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If you want to amplify your business online, you need to align your social media content with your business needs. Your content needs to be authentic to you and make sense to your audience because a confused mind will always say no. Your content has also got to be appropriate to the social media platform your using. My guest Matt Hanham is the director of a Perth based digital marketing agency Visible.  He is also the host of #Amplify Your Business podcast. On this episode we discuss: 2:20 - The Online Process - developing and finding a way to make content that makes sense to your business. It needs to add value or entertain.  4:20 - You must have the right context for the platform you're on. For example, Instagram: When they're in browse mode looking at pictures, they're not usually in the mood for buying, unless the picture captures their attention. It must be engaging.  6:40 - The importance of sharing your interest and passions on social media It must be authentic to you. It builds your brand. It must make sense to your target audience. You can't post photos of your hunting weekend if you own and operate a business that works closely with Vegans, it would not make sense.  12:30 - You can't just do what everyone else is doing in your industry. You've got to show your differences. It's not all about the craft you do.  20:20 - Create content that will make people talk, but be authentic. Great content will amplify who you are and will create publicity. Creating interesting content will make people pay attention, and then when you do open your mouth and talk about the craft you do, people will listen.  24:45 - If you're not sure what content to create, start writing a list and start brainstorming until you get excited about something.  28:10 - Simple Minds Podcast 29:00 - Amplify Your Business podcast 30:05 - What are Custom Audiences on Facebook and how to use them to grow your business.  37:35 - You've got to know you're strategy and then decide what tactic is best suited. If you have any questions about this podcast episode, please contact me at [email protected], or you can connect with Matt Hanham at Visible. If you're a podiatrist, or a person open to new ideas and like to think outside the box, check out the Podiatry Legends Podcast.  FREE DOWNLOAD: First 16 Pages of My Book – It’s No Secret There’s Money in Small Business. If you're a Podiatrist you may prefer to order my first book; It's No Secret There's Money In Podiatry.  12 Secrets to Get More People Through Your Front Door If you like this episode you will enjoy:   Episode 21: Micro-Story Telling 

Regardless of your age, it's never too late to start investing and my guest today Andy Wang, the host of the Inspired Money Podcast and co-owner of the financial management company Runnymede Capital Management explains why. He also is a huge advocate on buying local, and he has created a movement Buy Local New Jersey, which he is using to help grow his own business.  On this episode we discuss:  5:30 - What a financial management company does.  6:15 - The earlier you get started investing, the better. Time and compound growth are your best friends.  7:20 - Where to start with investing: Keep it as simple as possible. 10:30 - Why Andy started the Inspired Money Podcast and how it helps drive traffic to his website.  He uses the podcast to: Address client questions Discuss what is money all about What inspires people Why we don't talk about money enough 13:45 - Why you should TRACK your spending instead of creating a BUDGET. When you track something you will want to make constant improvements "When you know where you spend your money it actually frees you, it does not confine you".  22:10 - His invest philosophy: You want to look for companies that are making money. Earnings and stock prices should be going up. You want to look for solid companies that are growing their earnings year after year.  30:10 - The importance of leadership in the right positions within a company.  31:20 - BUYING LOCAL: Recycling of money within the community creates new jobs and supports the community.    39:25 - How buying local ties back to their website 43:05 - You learn by doing. 43:40 - NICHE DOWN: The importance of starting small and from there you can grow. 47:40 - How podcasting builds business connections.  Monday Morning Tip Don't watch the news because it's so sensationalised. Instead, be intentional and deliberate with what you're doing and make an effort to filter out the noise. "Do one thing each day that scares you, and you will make significant changes in your life" If you have any questions about this podcast episode, please contact me at [email protected], or you can connect with Andy Wang at Runnymede Financial Management.  You can also connect with Andy Wang on LinkedIn   If you're a podiatrist, or a person that's open to new ideas and like to think outside the box, check out the Podiatry Legends Podcast.  FREE DOWNLOAD: First 16 Pages of My Book – It’s No Secret There’s Money in Small Business. If you're a Podiatrist you may prefer to order my first book; It's No Secret There's Money In Podiatry.  12 Secrets to Get More People Through Your Front Door Other Episodes You May Enjoy: Episode 118: How to Be Better At Almost Everything with Pat Flynn

Leticia Moran has been a Graphic Designer for twenty-three years specialising in corporate print related logos, branding and everything that follows on from that. On this episode, we discuss the benefits of having a real-life graphic designer as part of your advisory team and why they are just as important as your legal and financial advisors.  TBC

McDonald's is one of the most successful businesses in the world, and their huge success has convinced everyone that to be successful your business should also start and finish with systems, but my guest Dr Jesse Green explains why this is a mistake and that systems alone do not equal success.     McDonald's is a transactional based business; it's not a relationship type of business. Therefore to make their systems work, they only need arms and legs to get the job done, hearts and minds are not required.    However, if you're in a service type industry, you NEED your team to have their hearts and minds engaged with your clients.    In this episode we discuss:      2:20 Serving is not necessarily service.    6:00 Why systems don’t always translate. You need to connect emotionally and provide a proper level of service. You need structure with flexibility.   "If you over systematised your business you rob it of its heart and rob it of its soul and flexibility".    9:25 If you show that you care and you’re engaged with your clients it sets you apart from your competitors'.   11:00 Always think, how can I do it better.    15:23 Difference between Frameworks and systems and why your team need to be able to freestyle within the frameworks.    "Scripts can feel very awkward, it's like wearing someone else’s underwear".    19:05 Frameworks allow people to develop their hearts and minds for the business.    20:18 Performance Culture Matrix: How to handle a team member that is not engaged or is lacking heart and soul for your business.    22:50 The Necessary Conversation   “Whoever sets the frame for the conversation controls the conversation.”   24:45 People need to go through the shit shaver when they walk into your business.   26:05 Why it’s important to employ people with energy. You can teach skills.    33:32 Net Promoter Score: You have the positive advocates, the negatives advocates and the vanillas in the middle.   34:20 It’s about being on purpose. You can complete a task using arms and legs, but if you bring your hearts and minds, you will approach the task in a completely different way.    Monday Morning Tip   You've got to get your staff excited about what you’re building as a team.    "Whoever got you here, may not get your there".    38:55 Is your team fit for purpose.  If you have any questions about this podcast episode, please contact me at [email protected], or you can connect with Dr Jesse Green and if you're a dentist check out his podcast The Savvy Dentist.   If you're a podiatrist, or a person that's open to new ideas and like to think out of the box, check out the Podiatry Legends Podcast.  FREE DOWNLOAD: First 16 Pages of My Book – It’s No Secret There’s Money in Small Business. If you're a Podiatrist you may prefer to order my first book; It's No Secret There's Money In Podiatry.  12 Secrets to Get More People Through Your Front Door Other episodes you will enjoy with Dr Jesse Green: Episode 12: The Recovery Paradox   Episode 24: Brand Personality & ACDC  

If you want to grow your business doing in-service talks and presentations is one of the most cost-effective tactics you can use, and best of all you get to control the content and pace of the conversation.   On Episode 148 my guest Clive Maloney discussed the six vital steps required to improve your public speaking skills, and if you do a lot of public speaking, I highly recommend going back and listening to this episode.  Start Small Now, I won’t go into the six steps on today’s mini-episode, but one of the tips Clive suggested when you’re just starting, or if you’re nervous about public speaking, is to start small. And there’s no better way to start small than providing in-service talks and presentations to people, businesses and organisations that can refer people to your business. Conversation With A Plan One thing I will mention further is how Clive Maloney refers to presentations as ‘conversations with a plan,’ which is a perfect description. You are just talking with people, except for having it all planned out, even the objections. In-Service Explained If you’re not sure what I mean by an in-service presentation, let me give you an example. A Podiatrist could organise a short 15-20 minute presentation on a particular aspect of podiatry to a small group of practitioners at a local Doctors or Physiotherapy clinic. Ideally, the presentation will be on an area of interest to the Podiatrist, or about a service they want to promote. This applies to every profession or business. Don’t do a presentation if it’s of no interest and there’s no purpose behind it. If You Feel Intimidated If you feel intimidated presenting to other professionals in your industry, start with non-professionals — however a presentation for your local hairdressing salon, health food shop, and gym or accounting firm. If you want to have a successful business, you have to do things that are not always comfortable, and public speaking does fit under this heading, even if the audience is small. It's All About How You Think I have spoken to a lot of health professionals and business owners, and one common theme I hear is they want to be busier, and they want to attract more new people to their business, however, their budget is limiting their growth options. I disagree...it's not their budget that is limiting their growth options; it's their thinking. There's No Cost Yes, it costs money if you want to advertise using traditional media and even online adverts is not free; however, it costs you nothing but time to organise and provide an in-service presentation about your profession or business. Six Pillars of Marketing In both my books, It's No Secret, There's Money In Podiatry, and It’s No Secret There’ Money In Small Business I discuss the Six Pillars of Marketing.  Professional Referrers Non-professional Referrers Internal Marketing External Marketing Verbal Marketing Web-Based Marketing All marketing pillars should be used for promoting your business; however, some marketing pillars are far more expensive to implement. Pillar Number Five - Verbal Marketing  Providing in-service presentations comes under pillar number five - Verbal Marketing and most verbal marketing is relatively inexpensive, however, if you're not comfortable talking in front of people you will find this pillar challenging to build and develop. Who Is Your Business Spokesperson? But if you're serious about having a successful business, you need to get over your fear, or you need to employ someone else who can take on this role. Every successful business needs a spokesperson and if that’s never going to be you, then find someone who will be. When you get in-service presentations working for you, you’ll notice immediately the positive impact it has on your business. The more in-service presentation I did for my podiatry business, the faster it grew. Solopreneurs But what do you do if you work by yourself and can't find someone else to do the in-service presentation for you? Well, you'll have to sit back and watch your competition grow instead. On a serious note, if you genuinely have a fear of public speaking, please send me an email at [email protected] and let's discuss it further. I managed to get through Primary School, High School and University without ever giving a public presentation, so when it comes to the fear of public speaking, I GET IT. If you like this episode, you will enjoy: Low-Cost Marketing Idea #1: Coffee Sponsorship  Low-Cost Marketing Idea #2: Photo Competiton  Low-Coast Marketing Idea #3: Host An Open Night  iTunes Reviews If you enjoy It’s No Secret with Dr T., please tell your friends, and if you enjoy it a lot, it will put a HUGE smile on my face if you left a review on ITUNES. RECENT REVIEW: ????? “This is a great podcast. What I like about it is that it’s not just theory. It has actionable information that you can use right away.” Jayteee3 via Apple Podcasts · Australia · 02/01/19 Newsletter If you'd like to be kept up to date with my speaking engagements, EVENTS and other activities I'm involved in, please sign up to my NEWSLETTER I promise not to spam you with daily emails about how good I am.  FREE DOWNLOAD: First 16 Pages of My Book – It’s No Secret There’s Money in Small Business. If you're a Podiatrist you may prefer to order my first book; It's No Secret There's Money In Podiatry. 

If you want to be a better public speaker, or overcome your fear of public speaking you need to listen to my guest Clive Maloney as he explains the six vital steps required to improve your next public speaking performance. Clive is a small business coach and trainer, and teaches entrepreneurs how to grow their business and have an impact on the world. And there's no better place to start than improving your skills as a public speaker.  On this episode we discuss: 3:45 - Why we need to change our thinking and terminology about public speaking. Public speaking is not just a presentation; it's a conversation, and it's better than a conversation - it's a conversation with a plan.  6:15 - Why preparation is vital in removing fears. You need to plan what to say and then rehearse.  8:30 - Why do you want to do public speaking? Is it to increase sales, deliver a message, or create a call to action?  "There is no marketing platform on this planet that helps you build trust and credibility quicker than public speaking" 12:15 - Starting Small: This is the best tip to begin your public speaking journey. Start with a small audience and build up from there. 15:00 - Nerves are normal: Acknowledge the fact that you will be nervous and maybe suffer from imposter syndrome, but you cannot have two opposing emotions so start thinking about the value you're going to be delivering to your audience.  18:30 - A conversation with a plan: Think about the audience and where they are right now. Think about their problems and pain points. Think about where will they be by the end of your talk. Script it out. Where they are NOW, where you will take them.  Regardless of the time, all you need to do is fill in the gaps between the start and finish, whether it's a 30-minute presentation or a full day workshop.  23:50 - Why public speaking is an emotional journey. 6 Steps Formula For Improved Public Speaking As long as you must make sure you've done the preparation first. 24:55 A - ATTENTION To get the attention of the audience, you need to ask three YES questions, and you need to raise your hand high.  How many here would like to know more about...? How many here would like to improve their...? How many here would like to ...? And then tell a good story that relates to the three questions.  28:25 B - BENEFITS What it is they will gain by paying attention to you? 29:35 C - CONTENT Content is the logic element. Are you going to educate or inform? Ans always give them far more than they expected.  ADOV Principle: Always deliver outrageous value 33:00 D - DESIRE You want to create a desire for them to want to take action to implement what they have just learnt.  35:15 E - EVIDENCE You just telling someone it will work is not good enough. You must give examples. For example, 'We've used this strategy here, and these are the results we got, or I used this same strategy with business (X), and it doubled their income.  Results must be realistic, but you can show a range (25 - 150% improvement).  40:00 F - FINISH How you finish the presentation is very important. The whole purpose of your presentation is to lead them to a place. Your finish must have a clear call to action. Therefore you need to be clear in your mind right from the start where you want to take the audience.  Monday Morning Tip   You need to have a startup ritual. The Golden Hour: 20-minutes of exercise, 20-minutes of personal development , and 20-minutes of planning for the day.  "If you start the day strong, the day is that much better". Bonus Tip If you have dry mouth gently bite down on the sides of your tongue and it will stimulate your salivary glands If you have any questions about this podcast episode, please contact me at [email protected]  Y can also connect with Clive Maloney via his website Get Real About Business and via his Facebook Page Earning The Right and don't forget to check out his podcast Get Real About Business.   If you're a podiatrist, or a person that's open to new ideas and like to think out of the box, check out the Podiatry Legends Podcast.  FREE DOWNLOAD: First 16 Pages of My Book – It’s No Secret There’s Money in Small Business. If you're a Podiatrist you may prefer to order my first book; It's No Secret There's Money In Podiatry.  12 Secrets to Get More People Through Your Front Door Episodes you will enjoy: Dr Chris Zaino - 52 - People Quite Too Early Jim Palmer - 40 - Creating Yuor Dream Busines  

If you want to be successful both personally and in business and be surrounded by a team of successful people, you need to start building your resilience muscle. My guest Chris Desmond, Physiotherapist, Coach and Host of Uncomfortable is OK knows more than most about being uncomfortable.  Chris Desmond was also my guest on Episode 07: Uncomfortable is OK.  So, What Is Resilience? Resilience means to be able to navigate and recover from challenging situations quickly. It's about getting better at overcoming challenges, which improves your ability to do hard things, and in business hard things come up all the time. Eventually, it leads to more success. "Resilience  breeds persistence and persistence breeds success".  Why Team Resilience Is Important  Breeding resilience in your teams is essential. As they improve, you can delegate more tasks, and this will free up your time to work more on your business.  A more skilled workforce may mean more pay for them but in the long run a better business for you.  A more engaged team is less likely to leave, which saves times not having to re-train new team members, and also they tend to take less sick days. You end up with more production.  It's Not About Hardening Up Just trying to harden up and pushing through a situation leads to being overwhelmed, burnt out, sickness and decreased productivity.   Resilience is about having a skill set to cope with uncomfortable situations; it's the opposite to just pushing through it. It's figuring out a way for you to go through it while keeping yourself healthy and delivering quality work.   Where To Start 1. Strategically need to step out of your comfort zone.  Pick a situation you're not comfortable with and build your resilience muscle to that situation. In business, you may dislike networking events. If that's the case, you need to start attending networking events.  2. Do it progressively. Pick something just outside you comfortable a little bit and slowly start building you your resilience muscle. Think about new skills you want to learn.  It's very similar to running a marathon. You do not jump off the couch and run a marathon; it's something you must train for and over time you build up your distance.  What happens when the going gets thought? Easy for us to quite 3. Understanding WHY.  When the going gets tough it's easy to quit, so you need to know WHY you're doing what you do.  Ask these questions: a) How is what I'm doing getting me closer to the person I want to become? b) How is what I'm doing getting me closer to what I want to achieve? c) How is what I'm doing helping those people around me? 4. Cultivate a community around you that will build you up. They say you are the average of the five people around you, so do you have people around you that are positive?  You get different things from different people, so you need multiple people in your community with different experiences and skill sets.  You need to know who to go to about a specific topic, and who else for another issue.  "Building resilience muscles benefit you, your team and everyone else around you".  If you have any questions about this podcast episode, please contact me at [email protected] or you can connect with Chris Desmond on FACEBOOK at Uncomfortable is OK, LinkedIn or his website UncomfortableIsOK.com If you're a podiatrist, or you're a person that is open to new ideas and like to think out of the box, check out the Podiatry Legends Podcast.  FREE DOWNLOAD: First 16 Pages of My Book – It’s No Secret There’s Money in Small Business. If you're a Podiatrist you may prefer to order my first book; It's No Secret There's Money In Podiatry.  12 Secrets to Get More People Through Your Front Door

Are you letting excuses get in the way of your success? Win Charles is an Author of eight books, a Teacher, Journalist, host of four podcasts and she has Cerebral Palsy. Win decided many years ago not to let a disability limit her life achievements.  On this episode we discuss: The power of recommendations and referrals.  Not letting a disability hold her back from doing what she wanted to do.   Problems with the teaching profession and why journalism? Podcasting, but you have a speech impediment? Her ASK WIN podcast currently has 998 episodes, probably well over 1000 by now. (I was on episodes dated 2nd and 20th January 2019) How she got started with writing.  What inspired her first book.  Book nine and ten are not too far away.  Making money as a writer. Should people start a podcast?  "If you have a skill or knowledge in a particular area you should share it with others, especially if no one in your space is talking about it". Monday Morning Tip Write one word that could turn into a book. Most people want to write a book but are too scared to get started. You need to write that first word.  If you have any questions about this podcast, please email me at [email protected], or you can contact Win Charles on Linkedin (Win C) & Twitter (@winkellycharles)  Other resources mentioned in this podcast: Unstructured podcast hosted by Eric Hunley  If you like this episode, you will enjoy: Ep 128: Turning Your Passion Into A Business with Lonnie Beck iTunes Reviews If you enjoy It’s No Secret with Dr T., please tell your friends, and if you enjoy it a lot, it will put a HUGE smile on my face if you left a review on iTunes.   RECENT REVIEW: ????? “This is a great podcast. What I like about it is that it’s not just theory. It has actionable information that you can use right away.” Jayteee3 via Apple Podcasts · Australia · 02/01/19 Newsletter If you'd like to be kept up to date with my speaking engagements, EVENTS and other activities I'm involved in, please sign up to my NEWSLETTER I promise not to spam you with daily emails about how good I am.  FREE DOWNLOAD: First 16 Pages of My Book – It’s No Secret There’s Money in Small Business. If you're a Podiatrist you may prefer to order my first book; It's No Secret There's Money In Podiatry. 

In every business, I’ve been part of we've hosted an open night, where we’ve invited our professional and non-professional referrers, and long-term A-type patients. It a great way to build trust and raving fans.  Now if you haven’t heard me use the terms professional and non-professional referrers before I’d suggest you listen to my podcasts episodes released on the 17th and 24 May 2018.  Marketing Pillar One: Professional Referrers Marketing Pillar Two: Non-Professional Referrers  But to give you a quick overview: A Professional Referrer: Is someone within your industry. For example, in the health industry a Physiotherapist is a professional referrer to a Podiatrist, in the financial sector an Accountant is a professional referrer to a Financial Planner, and in the building industry, a Plumber is a professional referrer to an Electrician. A Non-Professional Referrer: Is someone outside your industry but potentially could refer people to your business. This referral source is often neglected. As an example, a Hairdresser is a non-professional referrer to a Plumber, Podiatrist or Accountant, but how often have you reached out to connect with your local hairdressers, other than the one you visit yourself. Simple Or Complex An open night in your business can be as simple or as complicated as you want, meaning it can be low-cost, moderate or expensive, that's really up to you, but what’s important is you have a compelling reason why you want to invite people for an open night. It may want to: Show off some new equipment or technology Introduce them to a new product line Have them meet critical people in your team Or it could be a combo of all of the above Are You A New Business? Now if you’re a new business you may not yet have any professional or non-professional referrers yet, well so you would think, but if you listened to Episode 92 – Market Early & Create A Buzz you should have made contact with a lot of potential referrers during your setup phase leading up to your opening day. With a new business though you would be throwing more of an opening party than an open night and therefore there will be more people, and the expense will go up accordingly. Open Night Tips When you do have an open night, here are a few tips to make it a success: Limit the number of people you invite (6 - 10 people). This may seem low, but there are good reasons for this. You are able to spend more time with each person that attends. Smaller numbers won’t feel like a party; therefore catering is much easier and less expensive. All you’ll need is a couple of bottles of wine, a few beers and a nice platter. The night will also be much shorter because you can share your message much faster. Make sure you put the time on your invitation (6-7pm). Holding it mid-week also indicates it is not a party. Friday nights are a little different. An important thing to keep in mind with smaller numbers is to make sure the referrers compliment each other and are not competitors, or conflict in any way. Putting Physiotherapists and Chiropractors in the same room is not usually a good idea. If one of your referral sources has a large team, consider inviting that business and keep the open night exclusive for them. Make sure you plan ahead and involve your team. You want the critical members of your team at each open night. Improve As You Go Having smaller open night means you can run them more often and therefore allows you time to tweak and improve how the night runs until it runs like clockwork. Celebrate Major Milestones So, what I’ve just explained has to do with throwing a low-cost open night, but if you have a major milestone worth celebrating, like a renovation or extension, moved into new premises or celebrating a work anniversary, you should go bigger and invite far more than ten people and make it a real celebration. In fact, I think you should celebrate every work anniversary and you should make a big deal of it. $1500 Was a Great Investment  The last one I threw for my podiatry business, we had 50 people attend, and we booked a caterer. When we added up the final bill, including booze and food, we were pleasantly surprised it only came to $1500. $1500 may sound like a lot to some businesses, but if you stop and think about it, how much are you prepared to invest in improving your relationship with a good referrer or A-Type patient/customer? $1500 divided by 50 people is only $30 per head, so I think that is a worthwhile investment. Social Media Exposure We also took over 150 photos on the night and generated an endless amount of coverage on our social media pages and also the social media pages of our guests, which was priceless. So in summary, start connecting with your professional and non-professional referrers by holding opening nights in your business, and also don't be afraid to invite long-term customers, patients and friends because there's nothing better than having raving fans to help share your message to the masses. If you have any questions about marketing message #3, please send me an email at [email protected] If you like this episode, you will enjoy: Low-Cost Marketing Idea #1: Coffee Sponsorship  Low-Cost Marketing Idea #2: Photo Competiton  iTunes Reviews If you enjoy It’s No Secret with Dr T., please tell your friends, and if you enjoy it a lot, it will put a HUGE smile on my face if you left a review on ITUNES. RECENT REVIEW: ????? Thank you so much for the great info and inspiring podcasts. You have helped me so much with my career and family life. Last year I chose to have an abundant 2018 ....guess what? I did. This year I have chosen to have a peaceful 2019 ....guess what? I will. Keep up the great work ...have the 2019 you want. Cheers Ian Lenehan ( Pod UK ) Great Britain · 01/04/19 Newsletter If you'd like to be kept up to date with my speaking engagements, EVENTS and other activities I'm involved in, please sign up to my NEWSLETTER I promise not to spam you with daily emails about how good I am.  FREE DOWNLOAD: First 16 Pages of My Book – It’s No Secret There’s Money in Small Business. If you're a Podiatrist you may prefer to order my first book; It's No Secret There's Money In Podiatry. 

If you want to grow your personal and business brand, promote your product and services, that next book or event, being a podcast guest is one of the most cost-effective forms of marketing you will ever undertake. However, there are some essential tips you need to be aware of and my guest Yann Ilunga from Helsinki, Finland is an expert in this particular area. Yann is the host of The Podcaster Lab and a university trained communications expert, so he understands the how and why of being the perfect podcast guest, and mistakes many guests make that can easily be avoided with some thought and forward planning. Why is being a podcast guest a good idea? It is a great, low-cost marketing tool. It leverages the power of your voice. It allows you to connect with people on a more personal level, something you cannot do with a written blog. It is much easier for people to consume audio compared to video, so they can take you anywhere. You can be in their ear 24/7 and become part of their daily or weekly routine.  It's a simple process compared to video and has a lower barrier to entry in regards to cost, equipment and technical knowledge. You need to have basic equipment  Being a professional podcast guest means you take what you do seriously and whether you're being interviewed at home or in your office you need to make sure you cover the following bases: Microphones  It's not just about WHAT you say, it's also about HOW GOOD YOU SOUND when you say it. Poor audio always reflects poorly on the guest, not the host, so it is essential you start with a good microphone, like the Audio-Technica ATR2100 or its European counterpart the Samsung Q2U, which both cost less than $100. Worst-case scenario you can use the headphones with a built-in microphone you got with your smartphone, but NEVER use the microphone built into your laptop computer because it produces poor audio.   Extras Buy a windscreen or a pop filter to protect the microphone from spit and to stop that popping sound when you say certain words. If you can, purchase a small tripod or detachable boom, so you don't have to hold onto the microphone. This will allow you to speak more freely. And if the host is also recording video, you can buy an external webcam to give you a higher quality video image.  Microphone training If you're serious about becoming a professional podcast guest, you will buy a proper microphone, and once you do, you need to practice how to speak into it correctly. You can Google microphone techniques or check out Yann's website and view the microphone category. "A poor recording will negatively affect your brand". Recording your side of the conversation This is totally optional, but you can also purchase software so you can record the podcast conversation as well. There are plenty of options and it's useful as a backup, but make sure you tell the host you are recording as well. You may want to use snippets of the conversation but ask for permission.   Pitch Yourself To The Right Shows Ask yourself, what topic do I want to cover as a guest and does it relate to your personal or business brand? When you know this information, then find a podcast that suits. If you approach a podcast host and they say NO, do not argue with them, it's their show, and they'll know if you're a good fit or not, but to increase your odds of them saying YES, make sure you don't make your pitch all about you because it's not.  Think about the listeners of the podcast What is the goal of the podcast show and what are the listeners going to walk away with after listening to you? You need to be able to answer these questions clearly. Also, what's in it for you? Are you promoting a book, conference, your coaching services, etc.? Podcast Dynamics Before pitching yourself, you must listen to a few episodes of the podcast and take note of the dynamics between the host and the guest. The Hosts listeners expect the same dynamics from you, so can you deliver this? Some hosts will only have guests they have previously connected with in person or on social media and have developed a relationship with. If you listen closely to a few shows, you'll pick up on this relationship between the host and guest.  You need to create a guest website If you want to be a professional podcast guest, you should have a website and also a one-sheet downloadable PDF that has your: Bio information  Topics you can cover A List of relevant shows with artwork, you've been a guest on Professional photograph of yourself Your social platform details  The downloadable PDF should link people back to your website for additional information, other photos and an introduction video if you have one. Advanced Tip: As your reputation grows as a podcast guest, you may want to add a booking and onboarding section on your website to handle scheduling and to make sure you're a good fit. You can use Google Forms to manage all your questions and add a scheduling program as the last step.  The location of your podcast interview Remember, poor sound quality reflects on the guest, not the host, so where are you planning to do your interview? Regardless if it's at home or in your office, you need to do a quick audio test if you have recording capabilities. First, press record and say nothing, just record your room on quiet, and then listen back to it. Is there a fan, air-conditioner or traffic noises in the background? Then, record again, but this time talk. Does it sound good, or does it seem like you're in a cave? If you do not have recording capabilities, a professional host will be doing a few tests themselves from their end.  Bonus location tips Make sure everyone knows you're recording, regardless of where you are, work or home.  Put your telephone on silent. Close all programs on the computer, especially emails Protect your bandwidth. Kick kids off of Netflix.  Make your best effort Your goal as a professional podcast guest is to make your best effort to limit distractions and noise. Sometimes things are not in your control, and you cannot always stop a dog from barking, but many sound distractions can be prevented. Work out when is the best time for you to be a guest. If you have children, school holidays may not be a good time to do an interview at home. Do you have a pool guy, a lawnmower man? If so, be aware of their schedule. Don't Let Fear Hold You Back Everyone is nervous at the start, but over time you will get better and your first podcast interview will be your worst. But even the hosts had to learn to control their nerves. If you have a favourite podcast, download the latest episode and the first episode and pay attention to how the host has changed and developed over time. Side Note: As an example - Episode 05: Fish Out of Water with Calvin Wayman. My introduction did not roll off the tongue as easy as it does now.  Stay interesting As a guest focus on your delivery, and not just what you say, but how you say it and don't be afraid to mix up your stories. You cannot keep repeating the same stories on every podcast interview, it will get boring for you and also listeners if they've heard you on other podcasts. Get on their radar Before you pitch yourself, especially to a more prominent podcaster, you need to get on their radar. To do this, you must listen to their show and afterwards send a few tweets, and be specific, and honest, about what you liked about the episode. Tag the host in your tweet, and if you do it multiple times, you will start to be noticed. Everyone loves positive comments and feedback.  This is where the psychology of communication comes in. Once you get on the hosts' radar, you start to position yourself as someone they know, even though it is only through social media.  Here's an example of what you can write: Hi, I'm (your name), you may know me from Twitter (twitter handle).  I'm a fan of your show and was enquiring if you are looking for a guest for your podcast. I typically talk about (topics), but I'm happy to cover (other topics). I'm looking forward to your reply. Make sure you direct them to your podcast webpage where they will find a lot more information about you. You don't need to add how good you are in the email. You want to keep your email brief, and this will increase the likelihood of them saying YES. If you're at a conference or meetup, use the same tactic to get on their radar and then make sure you introduce yourself and get a selfie with them. You can then send an email, as above.  Focus on just one call to action When you are a guest on a show be specific and clear with which brand you're putting forward, is it your personal brand or business brand? Also if you want to promote a book, make sure you only push the book and nothing else. You want to give them one call to action and one item for them to focus on. That's all you need to do, aim for one link per show.  Create a specific landing page You need to think about which landing page you want listeners to go to after your interview. Keep it specific and related to your one call to action. If you have too many calls to action, none will be remembered, but everyone can remember one call to action and one landing page. Most landing pages are set up for cold contacts that are found via a Facebook Ad etc. Cold Contacts do not know who we are so you need to try and sell yourself harder, but a podcast landing page is different. Your listeners have just spent 30-60 minutes with you already, they are more positive and if they visit your landing page it's because they are ready to work with you in some capacity or at least thinking about it. The three YES approach So, your call to action has got them to your landing page. Once they arrive you need to apply the Three Yes's Approach. First YES is 'the small sizes yes'. It requires a low investment in time and money. It could be free and involves downloading a FREE PDF document.  Second YES is the 'medium size yes'. There is an investment in time and money, but it's minimal. This could involve a video series, webinar, etc.  Third YES is the 'big size yes'. This will involve the highest investment in time and money and may include your coaching services or online course. Think about what else can you offer.  Can you be on too many podcast shows? It comes down to your threshold of how many you want to do. John Lee Dumas does over 200 interviews per year, that's his threshold. If you're eager to promote each podcast show you guest on as a thank you to the host, and if you're concerned because of time, you can use scheduling programs like SocialBee and MeetEdgar. You can organise it, so posts go out automatically. The post-interview chat When the interview is finished, don't be in a hurry to leave. Hang around for a post-interview chat. This is where you create a long-term connection with the host.  While you have their attention and they are still warm you can ask: To connect with them on LinkedIn and Facebook.  If they'd be interested in being a guest on your webinar Them to speak at your event, or you speak at theirs  Monday Morning Tip As soon as you can start to compile a list of podcast shows you want to be a guest on and start connecting and getting on the hosts' radar via Twitter and LinkedIn. Ninja Tip If you're an author, go to Amazon and find similar authors to yourself and then go to Apple Podcasts and see what podcasts they've been covered on. This will give you a long list of podcasts to add to your list. If you're not an author, but have expertise in a particular area follow the same steps. If you have any questions about this podcast, please email me at [email protected] or you can contact Yann Ilungavia his website.  Other resources mentioned in this podcast: Tom Schwab's book - Podcast Guest Profits If you like this episode, you will enjoy: Episode 128: Turning Your Passion Into A Business with Lonnie Beck iTunes Reviews If you enjoy It’s No Secret with Dr T., please tell your friends, and if you enjoy it a lot, it will put a HUGE smile on my face if you left a review on iTunes.   RECENT REVIEW: ????? Thank you so much for the great info and inspiring podcasts. You have helped me so much with my career and family life. Last year I chose to have an abundant 2018 ....guess what? I did. This year I have chosen to have a peaceful 2019 ....guess what? I will. Keep up the great work ...have the 2019 you want. Cheers Ian Lenehan ( Pod UK ) Great Britain · 01/04/19 Newsletter If you'd like to be kept up to date with my speaking engagements, EVENTS and other activities I'm involved in, please sign up to my NEWSLETTER I promise not to spam you with daily emails about how good I am.  FREE DOWNLOAD: First 16 Pages of My Book – It’s No Secret There’s Money in Small Business. If you're a Podiatrist you may prefer to order my first book; It's No Secret There's Money In Podiatry. 

One of the easiest ways to engage with your clients and patients on social media, such as Facebook and Instagram, is to run a photographic competition, and you do not need big numbers for it to be an effective marketing campaign for your business.   Most people have their smartphone with them at all times, so taking a photo and posting it on social media takes very little time and effort, and if you only receive a small number of entries, don't be concerned. Engaging with eight or ten people is still better than not engaging with anyone, but remember, some people like to watch and not participate, so you're probably engaging with far more people than you think.  The Prize Entering this type of contest is easy, so no one is going to expect a massive prize, but it still must be worthwhile. Because this article us about low-cost marketing you could approach a third-party business and have them donate the prize, and in turn, this will give them exposure to your audience, making it a win-win.  It could be a local restaurant or any other business that can donate a prize with a high perceived value.  Theme It The best photo contests usually have a theme, so give this some thought beforehand and plan. The competition could be specific to your industry, a particular month, or a season. One competition my podiatry business ran, which was very successful, was run over the Easter holidays and the theme was 'where will your feet take you this Easter'. We received some very smart photos, and I can still clearly remember the winning photo. It was a picture of a foot, and between the toes was a glass of red wine, and in the background, you could see a lush vineyard.  I've seen some companies get onboard with Socktober. All you had to do was post a photo of the craziest pair of socks you owned. There wasn't even a prize, but they had over fifty entries, meaning they had far more watching in the background.  Use Hashtags Once you're clear on your theme, you need to think about a #hashtag that will be most appropriate, and you need to tell people to use this hashtag with their photos because it makes it much easier to search and find each entry. Therefore you to decide if you want to create a unique hashtag, specific to your competition #photocomp, or use a hashtag with your business name for increased exposure #abccompany. There are many benefits to your business for using hashtags.  Repurpose As the photo entries get posted on your selected social media page, you have the choice to re-post all of them on other social media platforms or only the outstanding ones. You can reuse these photos at a later date to promote your business, and also use them in your newsletters and on your website.   When the winner is selected, announce it to the world. Make a big deal about it. If you run the competition locally, and there is a prize to pick up, make sure you get a photo with the winner and post it on your social media pages.  Two Final Tips Make sure you comment on every photo entry and say thank you. I've seen businesses run this sort of promotion and ignore every entry and they wonder why people don't enter a second time. People need to be recognised.  Get your team involved in the planning process, which will create more buy-in. An excited team will get right behind this idea, and will more than likely share some of the better photos on their own private social media pages, giving your business even more exposure.  If you have any questions, please email me at [email protected] and if you run a photo competition let me know how it went. Also, if you're a podiatrist check out my other show the Podiatry Legends Podcast.  If you like this episode, you will enjoy: Low-Cost Marketing Tip #1: Coffee Sponsorship iTunes Reviews If you enjoy It’s No Secret with Dr T., please tell your friends, and if you enjoy it a lot, it will put a HUGE smile on my face if you left a review on ITUNES. RECENT REVIEW: ????? Thank you so much for the great info and inspiring podcasts. You have helped me so much with my career and family life. Last year I chose to have an abundant 2018 ....guess what? I did. This year I have chosen to have a peaceful 2019 ....guess what? I will. Keep up the great work ...have the 2019 you want. Cheers Ian Lenehan ( Pod UK ) Great Britain · 01/04/19 Newsletter If you'd like to be kept up to date with my speaking engagements, EVENTS and other activities I'm involved in, please sign up to my NEWSLETTER I promise not to spam you with daily emails about how good I am.  FREE DOWNLOAD: First 16 Pages of My Book – It’s No Secret There’s Money in Small Business. If you're a Podiatrist you may prefer to order my first book; It's No Secret There's Money In Podiatry. 

To achieve your goals, you must take action, and you'll only take action when you truly understand your WHY. Dr Jeffrey Tho is a two time Commonwealth Games athlete, Dentist, Business Owner and Coach. He helps people reach their goals by assisting them to get clarity around their WHY.  On this podcast episode we discuss: Balancing his training and competition with his social life and dental studies Benefits of discipline and hard work and how this translates from sport to business "Natural talent will only take you so far, and those that make it to the top are the ones who never gave up. Success comes when you don't quite" Success in business comes to those who never quit.  Analysing what works and make changes if you're not getting the results you want, but don't quit.  Book: START WITH WHY by Simon Sinek. Belief systems  Knowledge not put to use is a waste of time.  "Don't let perfection get in the way of progress." Getting Started With Goals  First, you need to understand yourself (your mindset) and work out what is your limiting beliefs.  SIDE NOTE: A belief is just a neural connection from one event to another. It's your way of connecting stories. If you say, you're going to lose 10kg you need to ask WHY. There must be an emotional connection. Just saying so you can fit into a shirt or pair of pants is superficial. What will fitting into that short or pants make you feel? That's the emotion.  Monday Morning Tip Think about the person you want to become. Can you picture this person in your mind?  How do they speak? How do they act? What daily actions do they take?  How do they start their Monday morning?  "Today is not just another day." If you have any questions about this podcast, please email me at [email protected] Or you can contact with Jeffrey Tho via Facebook & LinkedIn. Search for Dr Jeffrey Tho. Or Instagram @drjeffreytho  If you like this episode, you will enjoy: Mastering Your Mindset with Deb Johnstone  iTunes Reviews If you enjoy It’s No Secret with Dr T., please tell your friends, and if you enjoy it a lot, it will put a HUGE smile on my face if you left a review on ITUNES. RECENT REVIEW: ????? Thank you so much for the great info and inspiring podcasts. You have helped me so much with my career and family life. Last year I chose to have an abundant 2018 ....guess what? I did. This year I have chosen to have a peaceful 2019 ....guess what? I will. Keep up the great work ...have the 2019 you want. Cheers Ian Lenehan ( Pod UK ) Great Britain · 01/04/19 Newsletter If you'd like to be kept up to date with my speaking engagements, EVENTS and other activities I'm involved in, please sign up to my NEWSLETTER I promise not to spam you with daily emails about how good I am.  FREE DOWNLOAD: First 16 Pages of My Book – It’s No Secret There’s Money in Small Business. If you're a Podiatrist you may prefer to order my first book; It's No Secret There's Money In Podiatry. 

Over the next month or so, I plan to go over some of my favourite and low-cost marketing ideas that most business owner could use and benefit from immediately. Also, I want these marketing ideas to be easy to implement and have no financial barriers, so there’s no excuse not to give them a go. #1: Coffee Sponsorship 1. The Selection Process: Identify a coffee shop in your area that serves coffee to the type of people you would love to have as clients and attract to your business. It doesn’t need to be super close, but also not too far away. Before starting this tactic you need to know the type of client you would like to attract, which is called your perfect client avatar, but that’s a whole other topic. For simplicity let’s say you want to attract more female clients between the ages of 25 to 35 who look like they take care of themselves physically. 2. Ask: Once you know who you want to target and the coffee shop you know they hang out at, meet with the manager and ask if you can sponsor the first ten cups of coffee for the day, or the first 10 cups after 9.30am, etc. At $5.00 per cup of coffee, the most you can spend on this tactic is $50. 3. Under The Criteria: The manager will, of course, say yes, but it’s important that he or she, and their team understand the basic criteria, which was female, 25-35, and fit, and then you need to make it a little more specific. For example, you may use the above criteria and add wearing active wear, or more specifically it could be wearing ‘branded’ activewear. Depending on the type of business you operate it may be pushing a pram, with young children, or arriving with two or more friends, etc. Type of business you own will determine the other details you want to specify. 4. Use Business Cards: Give the coffee shop manager your business cards and when a person fitting your description goes to the counter, and orders a coffee all the manager or his team have to say is:  “today's coffee is normally $5, but there’s no need for you to pay today, as this coffee has been sponsored and paid by ABC business name”. When they give the person the free cop of coffee they should also hand them one of your business cards. It would also be great if they could write your business name on the side of the cup. 5. Optional: You could sit in the coffee shop while this marketing idea unfolds. You may use this time to catch up on paperwork. When the coffee is ordered, the same line is said above, but they also add: “and the owner of the business is sitting just over there”. If they look over towards you all you need to do is give a small nod of the head in acknowledgment, but don’t be surprised if a few come over and say thank you. Because this is such an unusual experience for the coffee shop customer they will talk about it for the rest of the day and if they work in an office you can only imagine how many people they will tell. No Limits  There’s no limit to the number of coffee shops you can use, but first of all, I would suggest starting with one and focus on who your ideal client is. You need to get this right so you attract the right people to your business and get the best bang for your buck. Also, if you plan on using this marketing technique multiple times the coffee shop owner may give you a small discount or free coffee for yourself, so 10 cups of coffee could cost you less than $50, or you may get more than 10 cups for the same price. Simplicity & Cross-Learning  Sometimes the best marketing ideas are the simplest ideas and I think this is one fits that category of simplicity. If you’re a podiatrist, in the health industry or just interested in cross-learning from other professions, check out my new show called the Podiatry Legends Podcast. There is some great information being shared. If you have any questions on this marketing idea, please email me at [email protected], or if you test it, I’d love to hear from you with results.  If you like this episode, you will enjoy: Your Ideal Client  iTunes Reviews If you enjoy It’s No Secret with Dr T., please tell your friends, and if you enjoy it a lot, it will put a HUGE smile on my face if you left a review on ITUNES. RECENT REVIEW: ????? Thank you so much for the great info and inspiring podcasts. You have helped me so much with my career and family life. Last year I chose to have an abundant 2018 ....guess what? I did. This year I have chosen to have a peaceful 2019 ....guess what? I will. Keep up the great work ...have the 2019 you want. Cheers Ian Lenehan ( Pod UK ) Great Britain · 01/04/19 Newsletter If you'd like to be kept up to date with my speaking engagements, EVENTS and other activities I'm involved in, please sign up to my NEWSLETTER I promise not to spam you with daily emails about how good I am.  FREE DOWNLOAD: First 16 Pages of My Book – It’s No Secret There’s Money in Small Business. If you're a Podiatrist you may prefer to order my first book; It's No Secret There's Money In Podiatry. 

There is far more to branding than colours, design, headlines and logos, and Dr Fern Kazlow (aka Dr K), New York City Psychotherapist, speaker, author, and business and branding consultant helps explain some of the most common branding mistakes.  Branding can make or break your business, but when you get it right everything else you do just falls into place. Your marketing, advertising, offers and everything else becomes much easier.  Marketing without good branding is like building a house on poor foundations. If your branding is wrong your marketing will be wrong.   If you have any questions about this podcast you can contact me directly at [email protected] or connect with Dr K on Facebook, Linkedin or visit her Website: Live In The No Doubt Zone If you liked this podcast you would also enjoy: Ep 38: High Performers Live In The No Doubt Zone iTunes Reviews If you enjoy listening to It’s No Secret with Dr T., please tell your friends, and if you enjoy it a lot, it will put a HUGE smile on my face if you left a review on ITUNES. Newsletter If you'd like to be kept up to date with my speaking engagements, EVENTS and other activities I'm involved in, please sign up to my NEWSLETTER I promise not to spam you with daily emails.  FREE DOWNLOAD: First 16 Pages of My Book – It’s No Secret There’s Money in Small Business. If you're a Podiatrist you may prefer to order my first book; It's No Secret There's Money In Podiatry

Discounting is a terrible marketing strategy unless of course, your business name contains the word discount then it makes sense. Also, if you get into a price war with an idiot, you'll end up with two idiots, so avoid price wars.    If you have any questions about this blog/podcast, please email me [email protected]  If you like this episode, you will enjoy: Ep 133: Original Or Imitation, Your Choice iTunes Reviews If you enjoy It’s No Secret with Dr T., please tell your friends, and if you enjoy it a lot, it will put a HUGE smile on my face if you left a review on ITUNES. RECENT REVIEW: ????? It's No Secret with Dr T is terrific. Tyson is an absolute wealth of information and has a conversational easy to listen to style. Best of all, he's actually DONE what his podcast is about. He has successfully run his own business and can talk to the talk as well as walk the walk. I had the pleasure of meeting Tyson, and he is a really nice guy to boot. Definitely worth a listen. Michael Filosi via Apple Podcasts · Australia · 01/01/19 Newsletter If you'd like to be kept up to date with my speaking engagements, EVENTS and other activities I'm involved in, please sign up to my NEWSLETTER I promise not to spam you with daily emails about how good I am.  FREE DOWNLOAD: First 16 Pages of My Book – It’s No Secret There’s Money in Small Business. If you're a Podiatrist you may prefer to order my first book; It's No Secret There's Money In Podiatry. 

Chris Dayley from Disruptive Advertising explains that 76% of Google and Facebook budgets are wasted because most marketing companies approach marketing the wrong way, they get stuck on increasing traffic to a website and never move beyond this tactic.     For more detailed show notes, please visit my website https://www.tysonfranklin.com/podcast If you have any questions about this episode, please email me [email protected], or you can email [email protected] You can also connect with Chris Dayley on Twitter and Linkedin @ChrisDayley If you like this episode, you will enjoy: Episode 134: A/B Website Testing with Chris Dayley iTunes Reviews If you enjoy listening to It’s No Secret with Dr T., please tell your friends, and if you enjoy it a lot, it will put a HUGE smile on my face if you left a review on ITUNES. Newsletter If you'd like to be kept up to date with my speaking engagements, EVENTS and other activities I'm involved in, please sign up to my NEWSLETTER I promise not to spam you with daily emails.  FREE DOWNLOAD: First 16 Pages of My Book – It’s No Secret There’s Money in Small Business. If you're a Podiatrist you may prefer to order my first book; It's No Secret There's Money In Podiatry. 

The reason your business name is so important is that its part of your business identity. A good business name can help to set you apart from your competitors and demonstrate the type of business you are, and the clientele you want to attract, and this is why it needs protection using trademarks.    For example, if the word discount appears in a business name you immediately think lower prices, but do you also think they provide a lesser service? I’m not sure. If the words rapid, fast, or speedy are in a business name, I’m expecting quick service, and if I don’t get it, I’d be annoyed. Everyone wants to have a cool business name, but it’s important to note that your business name is the first image that you put “out there” about your business, so it must be a reflection of the type of business you want to have one day. So when you develop your business name make sure it represents you correctly. Remember, your business name can attract or repel people, so you do need to give it some serious thought, but don’t try to be too clever. Here’s some excellent news though, if you currently have a business name and you’re no longer happy with it, change it. There’s no law against this. This is especially important if your business has changed and evolved of the years. Where your business starts is not where it has to finish. Your business may previously be known for providing a particular service, but if your business now provides different services make sure your name reflects this change. When it comes to creating a business name you should make sure it is easy to remember and easy to read. A simple name is a good name, and it should also be unique if possible. Avoid being too generic. And if possible, do not use words everyone else in your industry is using. For example, in the health industry using the word “clinic” or “centre” at the end of the business name is common, but they are what I refer to as nothing words. For example, if a business was called ABC Podiatry Centre or ABC Dental Clinic, you’ll quickly remember the word centre or clinic, so if there are ten businesses all ending in centre or clinic, you can see how your business name may get lost in the crowd. Here’s a quick test for you to try. Look at your business name and remove nothing words and see if it still has the same meaning. If it does, then do it. Before you go any further with a business name, always check if someone else is using a similar business name to the one you are considering. A simple online business name search in your country will take you to the appropriate websites. In Australia: ASIC - Australian Securities & Investments Commission  You’ll be surprised how many businesses have similar names, and they wonder why there is so much confusion online. More and more people are searching online for goods, services and quality information, so if they type in your business name, or something similar, will they get your business or will they get a competitor’s business that sounds similar to yours? This can be frustrating if you’ve been busting your butt on advertising and marketing and your competitor is simply sitting back and enjoying your efforts. It’s also important to see if the domain name for your business exists. Domain names are valuable real estate, and there would be nothing more frustrating than registering your business name only to find out afterwards that someone already has the domain name and all the variations. I know that if I see a business name, I expect the domain name to be identical to the business name or a slightly shorter version. For example, a friend of mine Nicky Jurd owns a website development company called Precedence, and her website is precedence.com.au, as expected. If the domain name is available, I’d suggest registering both the domain in your country and also dot-com, as the dot-com is popular and universally recognised. So, if you live in Australia purchase the (.com.au) domain, and if you lived in the UK, you’d grad the (.co.uk) as well as the (.com). Another important question to ask yourself is can your business name grow with you and your business grow? If you’re planning world domination will your business name still work, or does your business name contain your current street address or city you operate in? This will only be a problem if you decide to expand in the future? Next, I want to discuss misspelt business names. The jury is still out on business names deliberately misspelled. It may look clever on paper but if you’re having to always spell it out for someone so they can find you online because of odd, incorrect spelling, is it a clever name, especially if it could be spelt correctly and have the same meaning? For example, I’ve spoken to business owners who have used Phyx instead of Fix and 4U instead of For You, and on both occasions, they’ve had to clarify their business name and more importantly their website address. So, be careful. BUT, this doesn’t mean odd spelling business names won’t work long-term, be aware you may have to work a little harder at the beginning for people to understand what you have done with the name. Once you have created your business name, and I cannot stress this enough, you need to protect it because your business name holds a lot of value. Just having it registered in your state gives you no protection nationally, so the best option is to register it as a trademark. You can register a trademark yourself online, which I have done on eleven occasions, or you can seek legal help, which may be the better option if you have concerns, or you’re planning to go international. Of course, it will cost more using a lawyer, but it will be money well spent.  I discussed trademarks and business names with one of my past guests, Donna Patane, on Episode 39: Don’t Take A Sword To A Gun Fight, which is worth checking out if you're wanting to learn more about protecting the business name you’ve created. The final point I want to mention about business names is to regularly check online if someone else is using your business name in another state, and this is especially important if you have a registered trademark. It’s also important to do online searches because some companies may try to import products from other countries that contain your trademarked business name. This happened to my wife and I a few years ago with our Shoe Store Walk Right Footwear. Another Australian company tried to import footwear from overseas called Walk Right, but because we had a trademark, we were able stopped them. If you ever find a company or individual has breached your trademark you need to take action immediately, and if you do not feel confident contacting them yourself you need to seek legal advice. Never put it off.  So I hope you find this information helpful and remember your business name is one of your greatest business assets, so protect it. ????? Definitely worth a listen! It's No Secret with Dr T is terrific. Tyson is an absolute wealth of information and has a conversational easy to listen to style. Best of all, he's actually DONE what his podcast is about. He has successfully run his own business and can talk to the talk as well as walk the walk. I had the... Michael Filosi via Apple Podcasts · Australia · 01/01/19

  If you're trying to navigate the challenges of building a successful small business while maintaining a life worth living you need to trust the processes laid down by successful entrepreneurs who have gone before you, and also business consultants like Angela Henderson, based in Brisbane, Queensland.   Angela Henderson has a background in mental health and counselling, and for some years has run a successful online business called Finlee And Me, and successful coaching business for small businesses called Angela Henderson Consulting.  Blogging For Netflix & P&O When you have a substantial audience on Facebook, and Instagram companies like Netflix and P&O Cruises want to reach your audience and will use you as an authority. This is how some people make money from blogging.  There Is Power In Networking  The best way to grow your business is to attend networking events; it's all about hugs and handshakes.  Sometimes you need to pay to play, but it's always worthwhile as the people you meet may be able to open doors for you.  Cheap Tickets Versus Priority Events  You get what you pay for, and if an event is too cheap if often means the organisers and speakers will be selling from the stage. A similar thing happened at a recent Gary Vaynerchuk event, and the feedback was all negative.  This doesn't mean every cheap ticketed event is a waste of time, but be careful. You're better to select one or two events where you think you will get the most value, and budget and plan to go along to those as a priority.  Saying Yes Means Saying No To Something Else Whenever you say YES to something, you are also saying NO to something else. For example, if you say YES to speak at an event, you're also saying NO to spending time with your family.  Looking at it this way helps you work out where to put both your time and money.  The Consulting Process In the first six to twelve months of running a small business, there is usually a level of overwhelm and confusion and many important aspects that need to be addressed to build a business with STRONG FOUNDATIONS: You must validate new ideas Analyse your competitor's strengths and weaknesses Register trademarks  Survey potential audiences using social media Create email lists Do Beta Testing Create a sales page and test it before building a full website You Need To Fail Fast Most entrepreneurs get caught up in the next shiny bright light and move onto the next task before finishing the one at hand, and yes, a website is essential, but why spend $4,000 or more on a site without first validating the idea.   Set Your Fees To Reflect Time & Effort As an entrepreneur, you will have people ask you for business advice, and in the beginning, you don't mind giving it away for FREE, but you cannot keep doing this.  Eventually, you will need to charge people, but remember you're not just selling your time; you're also selling your years of experience and recouping all the amount of time and money ($) you have invested in your education by attending seminars, workshops and events.  Don't let people devalue what you know, or try and shortcut the learning process for FREE. That's not fare.  But New Business Owners Cannot Afford A Coach (That's BS) One of the most significant limiting beliefs is new business owners saying they cannot afford to pay you what you are worth when it comes to business coaching or the services you offer, but that is complete BS.  If they can afford to take a holiday, they can afford to pay you for your time and service.  "Good Numbers On Social Media Does Not Make You A Business Coach" If you do get a business coach make sure they know what they are doing and have owned a business themselves. Having tens of thousands of followers on Facebook, Youtube and Instagram may be good for vanity, but it is not an indicator if someone is, or is not a good business coach.  You Have Got 6-Seconds When someone visits your website, you have got 6-seconds to grab their attention, or they are gone.  You need to make sure of the following: You know who your ideal client. You have a strong message. Your website is not leaky. You're developing the right content for your ideal client. Podcasts and audio Video with captions Articles and blogs You share the shit out of your content Newsletters Email Blasts Facebook Groups Pay Per Click  Social Media Pages Repurpose every 3, 6, 12-months Sales Funnels Trust The Process To get the most out of coaching the client has got to trust the process. New ideas will come to mind, but it's essential for the client to stay on track and complete the tasks on hand before moving onto the next one; otherwise, they will eventually feel they have too much on the plate.   Clients often get bored with the process but they must learn to trust the process and the business coach.  Budgeting For Extras A good business coach will make it very clear to the client that they will need to invest money into other areas of their business, not just coaching if they want to grow a successful business.  Most clients need: SEO Audits Copywriting  Web Developers Apps to make business life easier, etc.  Secondary Markets In The Background It is imperative for the business owner to know who their ideal client is as it helps direct their content, but many small business owners fear to be so specific with their marketing because they think they will miss out, but that is not the case.  "I help women in business develop the strategic plan they need for future growth and success". - Angela Henderson This is Angela's elevator speech, and even though aimed at women, she has many male clients. Therefore never underestimate who is hiding in the background.  Monday Morning Tip SMILE: Regardless of what is happening you have a choice to be in a good mood or a bad mood.  If you have any questions about this blog or podcast, please email me [email protected], or you can email Angela at [email protected] You can also connect with Angela Henderson via her Facebook Group: Australian Business Collaborative, website Angela Henderson Consulting, and please check out her podcast Business & Life Conversations.  If you like this episode, you will enjoy: Episode 32: An Entrepreneurial Journey with Cindy Rodriquez iTunes Reviews If you enjoy It’s No Secret with Dr T., please tell your friends, and if you enjoy it a lot, it will put a HUGE smile on my face if you left a review on ITUNES. RECENT REVIEW: Secrets Revealed ????? I love listening to Tyson Franklin's interviews! He is skilled at guiding his guests to revealing the secrets of their expertise! Tune in regularly to gain insight into building your business, no matter what field you are in. Definitely a winner! Singnmae via Apple Podcasts · United States of America · 12/28/18 Newsletter If you'd like to be kept up to date with my speaking engagements, EVENTS and other activities I'm involved in, please sign up to my NEWSLETTER I promise not to spam you with daily emails.  FREE DOWNLOAD: First 16 Pages of My Book – It’s No Secret There’s Money in Small Business. If you're a Podiatrist you may prefer to order my first book; It's No Secret There's Money In Podiatry. 

In December it's quite common to start looking ahead to next year and not reflect on the year that was. There is a lot to learn and to take away if you stop and reflect.  I'd love to say this was my idea, but it wasn't. Last week I tuned into a webinar with Deb Johnstone, and it was about reflecting on the year that was, and there were three key points.  Deb Johnstone was my guest It’s No Secret with Dr T., and the episode was called Mastering Your Mindset.  Focus On The Positive Firstly – People have a habit of focusing on the negative, what they didn’t achieve throughout the year, instead of the positive things they have done. Deb asked us to consciously go through the year, month by month, and look at the highlights, and when I did this I was amazed, and I had forgotten many of my accomplishments, not all huge, but still significant. Columnist of Tropic Magazine 14 consistent monthly coaching clients New website I ran a successful event in August with Dave Frees in Cairns I got to speak in Powell River, Canada and Arizona, in the USA Started a new Podcast called Podiatry Legends, to be released in January 2019.  What I Missed Is Not Important  I had set a goal to be a guest on 50 podcasts but only managed to speak on 34, which is still pretty good.  Also, I didn’t get Richard Branson on It's No Secret with Dr T. but in hindsight I know I could have pushed harder. However, I now have a choice. Focus on the negative or focus on the positive.  2018 Week One Episode  This webinar reminded me of my first episode in 2018, which was title Was Week One A Hit Or A Miss? On this podcast, I was talking about how much did you achieve and get done in your first week back at work? Was it a productive week, or was it a complete disaster, or was it somewhere in between? Create A Personal Scorecard I was also talking about not focusing on what you didn’t do, and instead, give yourself a rating out of ten, then keep track of your score each week and why you gave yourself this score.  What reoccurring obstacles keep getting in your way and can you do something to prevent them from happening again? To change the output of your life, you need to change the input. So if you’re not getting out of life what you want, you need to make a conscious effort to change the input. Free Lessons & Gifts - Some Hurt Every challenge leaves us with a lesson or a gift. Sometimes it’s hard to see what the lesson or gift is in the moment, but it’s there somewhere. For example, you may have had a challenge at work with a team member, a family challenge, or it could have been a health or weight challenge. Regardless of what it was, look for the lessons and gifts. Sometimes there may only be lessons, but every lesson is still a gift.  Key Changes For 2019 Think about what fundamental changes you need to make in your life right now to get the most out of 2019.  I discovered the following:  I had to be more aware of my daily habits, and especially how I start and finish each day. How I begin and end a day has a massive impact on my mindset, enthusiasm and how much you get done each day. My wife Christine recently pointed out that I was looking at my phone a lot before going to bed and also again when I work up, and I have to be honest, she was right. Conscious Effort To Change  So I’ve made a conscious effort to stop these bad habits, and after a few short weeks, it has already made a massive difference in how I am performing.  I also need to be more aware of the obstacles I know are present in my life, and don’t let them, or use them as an excuse for not doing what I said I was going to do. If you’re going to go to the gym at 7 am, then get up and go. Don’t put it off and say you’ll do it in the afternoon when you know by the end of the day you’re going to be tired and won’t feel like it. Be patient, and Happy To Be a Novice – Get comfortable with it. - MOG We All Must Have Gratitude The third thing Deb discussed was to be grateful for the year as a whole. There would be a lot of people that would love to have the year you had, so be grateful you got to have it. Gratitude is the closest state to love. When you look at all three points:  Achievement and highlights Lessons and gifts Be grateful for the year as a whole It does put 2018, and every other year prior, into PERSPECTIVE.  I hope you’ve had a great 2018 if you have any questions, please send me an email [email protected], or if you want more information on mindset coaching and personal development training I suggest you get in touch with Deb Johnstone at [email protected] FREE DOWNLOAD & Book Orders: First 16 Pages of My Book – It’s No Secret There’s Money in Small Business. If you're a Podiatrist you may prefer to order my first book; It's No Secret There's Money In Podiatry. 

Every small business wants more traffic to their websites, regardless of the industry, but traffic alone does not guarantee success, there must be a certain level of conversion and long-term engagement with the online users, and one of the best ways to do this is with A/B Testing.  Chris Dayley is a Digitial Marketing Entrepreneur from Lindon Utah and his company Disruptive Advertising help business learn what their users want on their websites using psychological based testing and analytics.  When I had my podiatry business in Cairns, I delved into A/B testing on a small scale, so it's great to have Chris Dayley explain this process in more detail.  The Purpose of A/B Testing  When you drive people to your website using specific SEO you want to see conversion results. The purpose of A/B Testing is to increase the results by splitting the traffic to different landing pages and learning what your audience ultimately wants to see on your website.  There is a lot of psychology involved to work out what influences people to make certain decisions when they're online.   Sometimes Success Is Not Always Success A lot of small business owners never look at their analytics and therefore never know why their online campaign failed. But a successful campaign is not always a good thing either, especially if the business owners do not know why it was a success without knowing why it's hard to duplicate.  Do Not Copy Your Competitors  Copying your competitors is not a smart business move. Your campaign could crash and burn because your audience and brand are unique to you, therefore taking the same approach as a competitor won't work, or work as well as it could.  An Existence Test It's important to work out what should and should not be on specific website pages.  For example, on your homepage, do you have too much information or too little? Have you tested what happens if you remove sections, numbers of products and amount of information available?  Information overload can be a detriment. However, some website will produce better results with more information or products.  Styling and colour, even though visually significant, is not as important as the user experience and how easy it is to find what they are looking for on your website.  Words On A Page The amount of text on a page can attract and repel people depending on how they are consuming your content.  There is a different user experience between consuming content on a desktop computer and a mobile telephone.  Mobile users tend to prefer a shorter length blog, however, if it is too short it can run the risk of not having enough depth, so keep this in mind when writing. What does your audience want?  Where Do You Start With Split Testing? Google Optimize is perfect for A/B Testing, and it lets you select which pages on your website you want to test, it allows you to edit those pages, or create a new page. To learn more follow the instructions, or you can go to the Disruptive Advertising website and download the free STARTER GUIDE.  "Every Small Business Should Be Doing Some Form Of Testing". Testing Changes Your Mindset When you're in testing mode, it puts you in the mindset of wanting what's best for the end user, your audience. If you're not testing, you're not learning.  If you're not sure where to start, pick something and test it. It could be the headline, a photo, the amount of text on the page, or different action buttons.  Ask good business questions and develop a hypothesis.  Declutter Large Websites If you have hundreds of articles and blogs, you can condense them, update them and re-release, or delete them altogether if outdated.   Take a look at your Google Analytics and work out your most successful pages with consistent traffic. Make your decisions based on data, not assumptions.   High Traffic & Low Conversions If your traffic is high, but your conversions are low don't assume you have to change the webpage, first take a close look your Google Analytics to see where your traffic is being directed from.  If most of your traffic is coming from Facebook Ads, it could be crappy traffic.  Contact your Web Developer if you don't know how to get into your website google analytics.  Your Website Should Be Consistently Evolving Many people create a website and do nothing with it, or they do a token redesign every 12-months, and if this is all you're doing your missing some perfect opportunities to increased traffic. Audience behaviour is constantly changing and your website must do the same.  It's all about the user experience and therefore you need to have clearly defined buttons on every page.  Monday Morning Tip Try something new. If you stick with the same activities each day, you'll get the same results.  "To accomplish a goal you've never reached, you have to do things you've never done".  If you have any questions about this episode, please email me [email protected], or you can email [email protected] You can also connect with Chris Dayley on Twitter and Linkedin @ChrisDayley If you like this episode, you will enjoy: Micro-Story Telling with Matt Hanham  iTunes Reviews If you enjoy It’s No Secret with Dr T., please tell your friends, and if you enjoy it a lot, it will put a HUGE smile on my face if you left a review on ITUNES. Newsletter If you'd like to be kept up to date with my speaking engagements, EVENTS and other activities I'm involved in, please sign up to my NEWSLETTER I promise not to spam you with daily emails.  FREE DOWNLOAD: First 16 Pages of My Book – It’s No Secret There’s Money in Small Business. If you're a Podiatrist you may prefer to order my first book; It's No Secret There's Money In Podiatry. 

Everyone knows an original, especially if you’re talking about artwork, is far more valuable than a copy, no matter how good it is. Even a photocopy of an original document is never as sharp as the original, and if you copy a copy, it gets duller each time. Business Follows The Same Principles And this is a mistake often made by new business owners, and even some existing businesses are still making, which is why they find it challenging to grow their business and expand, they try to copy what others are doing. No Original Thoughts  And here is where the problem lies; there are no original thoughts. If you copy what another business or individual is doing the only way it can be successful is if the demand for what they’re offering is so high, and the existing companies in the market cannot keep up with demand, and therefore you can quickly cash in. Short-lived Success  I remember the solar roofing industry going through this BOOM a few years ago, and also the training industry, but as government incentives dried up, so did most of the businesses.  So yes, there will be times you can copy someone else during boom times and succeed, but it’s usually short-lived, and the earlier you get in and get out is the key. Timing is everything. Copying A Past Employer More often than not a new business owner will replicate what they’ve seen elsewhere or what they’ve learnt working with a previous employer, and if their former employer was successful, it makes sense in their mind that they will also be successful. All they need to do is duplicate the idea. As I mentioned, if the demand is high enough they will succeed, but if there is not a high demand for what they are offering it’s hard to break peoples buying habits. Hard To Break Buying Habits If I buy my bread from the local bakery, one block away from where I live, if an employee leaves and opens a store on the opposite corner and produces the same bread I’m not going to change my buying habits.  The new baker has two options: Be more original, and WOW ME to get my attention Be an imitation and lazy, and try to grab my attention by being cheaper. If your goal is to be the cheapest and this is how you plan to grow market share, it may work, but I don’t believe this is the best way to develop. Be More Original Beats Discounting   I think you can do better by being more original. Ask yourself the following six questions about your prospective business: How many businesses in your area provide the same service as you intend to deliver? How many are doing everything the same way? Are they all using the same processes? What will distinguish your business from your competitors? What skills have you got that they don’t? What equipment are you going to purchase? Confused Clients Do Not Buy If you cannot tell your business apart from your competitors, what chance do your clients have? NONE.  Also, why would someone refer a friend or family member to your business instead of to the company they’ve been using for the past few years if you’re not offering something better? If you’re currently in business, you need to put some time aside and answer these questions. You MUST find a way to separate your business from everyone else and stand out in the crowd.  “If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got.” - Albert Einstein So if you’re not getting the business success you want, you need to change how you’re doing it. If you have any questions about this episode, please email me [email protected] FREE DOWNLOAD: First 16 Pages of My Book – It’s No Secret There’s Money in Small Business. If you're a Podiatrist you may prefer to order my first book; It's No Secret There's Money In Podiatry. 

There's a vast difference between writing and copywriting. Writing can be creative, or factual, and used for fictional and non-fiction blog posts and articles, whereas copywriting is about creating words that go on a page, manuscript or advertisement that tells a message, with a goal to get an active response from what you write.  Rob Sattler, aka Rob The Copywriter openly shares his copywriting secrets to help businesses owners get better online results using effective sales copy and direct response writing.  "True Sales Is About Solving Peoples Problems".  Purpose of Blogs  Blogs should be used to educate, inform and inspire, and over time they help build trust. People want their problems solved, and if they land on your blog post, you must give them the information they were searching.  There must be value for the reader; however, at the end of each page, you should have a clear CONTACT US or MORE INFORMATION button. It should be a simple invitation, not a hard-sell.  Sales Copy Purpose When you're writing copy for sales you are: Selling to someone who wants to buy Helping uncover a problem they didn't know they had.  Big Website Let Downs  Most business websites are like brochures. They're full of pretty pictures and a lot of small text. Contact details and phones numbers are often difficult to find, and there's no clear direction button to learn more or buy.  Create Emotive Headlines Direct response sales copy if all about creating emotive headlines and emotive sub-headlines, with a goal to get people thinking about the problem they have.  When someone lands on your website, it's because they've clicked on a link or they found your site while doing a specific search on Google.  Landing Pages That Work  Your LANDING PAGE needs to define the problem and how you can solve it. You need to be brief and straight to the point. Use words that clearly define their problem so they know they're on the right page and explain the solution/s. Point out the features and benefits and remember this page is not designed to tell them more about you.  Think About Every Website Page  All your website pages should be geared around selling or helping the reader take the next step. Follow this simple format as a minimum: Emotive headline Emotive sub-headline  Short paragraphs that are easy to read Contact or Call To Action BUTTON Your call to action button could say - Are You Experiencing...Right Now.  Using Fresh Eyes When you write copy, do not post it straight away. Go back to it the next day or a few days later with fresh eyes. You'll be surprised what you pick up.  If you're writing late at night when you're exhausted, you can be exceptionally creative, which is excellent, but this is when you must never post online and always go back and re-read the following day.  "Just because you can write it doesn't mean you can write direct response sales copy".  Rob The Copywriter  When Rob works with a client and before he can write any direct response sales copy he will always send a questionnaire to learn more information.  Details about the product/service All the features All the benefits Details about competitors  Details about the best and worst selling products in their market 5 Reasons why people wouldn't buy from you.  The last question is important because it addresses concerns why people would not use your product/service, and using this information Rob can spin this information into a benefit from a feature.  Copywriting Is Not Search Engine Optimisation Direct response copywriting is for people who have already landed on your page, so your SEO should have already been done.  If you're getting a lot of visitors to your website, but they are leaving without taking any action, it shows your SEO is good, but your direct response copy is weak.  Monday Morning Copywriting Tip Keep it simple and say what you do. Have a clear headline, so they know what you do. Only have a small amount of text. Have clear sub-headlines down the page so the reader can get the gist of what you're talking about and how you can solve their problem.   At the bottom of every page give them an opportunity to LEARN MORE, or BUY.  You can email Rob Sattler at [email protected] and if you visit his website https://www.RobTheCopywriter.com.au you can organise a FREE STRATEGY SESSION.  If you have any questions about this podcast or blog, please send me an email: [email protected].   If you like this episode, you will enjoy: Ep 113: The Psychology Behind Writing Content & Copy That Pops with Laura Peterson  iTunes Reviews If you enjoy It’s No Secret with Dr T., please tell your friends, and if you enjoy it a lot, it will put a HUGE smile on my face if you left a review on ITUNES. MOST RECENT 5-STAR REVIEW I thoroughly enjoy listening to Tyson's conversational style podcasts. I have listened to them from day one, as they are always interesting and fun. The guest’s topics are always diverse in delivering useful information and tips for any business owner. Leticia M. Moran via Apple Podcasts · Australia · 12/04/18 Newsletter If you'd like to be kept up to date with my speaking engagements, EVENTS and other activities I'm involved in, please sign up to my NEWSLETTER I promise not to spam you with daily emails. 

Have you stopped and considered the type of business you want to have? And when I say “type of business” I’m not talking about deciding between opening a coffee shop or a bakery. What I’m talking about is how are you planning to set your business apart from your competitors. Will you: Provide the fastest service in town Have the most advanced technology More locations and therefore be more accessible and convenient Have more extended trading hours (start early and finish late) Have the largest range Provide the highest quality Have the best-trained team Have the lowest prices  Knowing the answers to these questions will:  Help you set your prices and fees, and Have direct influence on the type of clients and patients you attract with your marketing campaigns. Location Does Not Equal Success For simplicity, I’ll stick with using a coffee shop as my example because it’s a very competitive, busy market and everyone has a favourite coffee shop they like to meet. When you look at coffee shops, it’s evident that some are highly successful and others are not so successful. Have you ever stopped and considered why? YES, location can play a huge part, but if a coffee shop in a great location makes less than average coffee, they will not last long. Convenience only goes so far. Closer Look Most successful independent coffee shops roast their coffee beans, and they do it their way, or they source their coffee beans from a particular coffee roaster for the same reason; they won’t just use the cheapest or most convenient coffee bean supplier, which is essential if they have a competitor close by or competing against successful franchise. They may also source and offer a wide selection of high-end coffees from various parts of the world. Uniqueness  By being selective in their coffee bean suppliers and coffee roasting techniques, it makes their coffee quite distinct from their competitors. This uniqueness sets them apart and allows them to set their prices slightly higher, and therefore this will influence both the clientele they attract and the quality of their barista team. If you’re looking for a cheap cup of coffee and you're not bothered where the coffee beans come from, and the taste is not a priority, this is probably not going to be the coffee shop for you.  But if you’re a true lover of coffee and you care about how it tastes, and you want variety from around the world, and you want to experience new coffees, then this is your coffee shop. If you’re opening a restaurant, a bookkeeping business, a retail outlet, or a podiatry business, the same principles apply again and again. Knowing the type of business you want will: Set you apart from your competitors Determine your prices and fees And dictate the type of clients and patients you’ll attract. Enjoyment Levels   In the end, these three factors will determine how much enjoyment you get from your work each day because you get to choose what your business will and will not do. For example, a coffee shop can choose to serve premade cakes, tarts and wraps, or it could decide to have an onsite kitchen and serve light meals. Once again it comes down to the type of business the owner wants to have and how far they want to separate their business from their competitors.   Can YOU charge more by offering additional services or products in your business? Is your business aiming at quantity or quality? This is a huge determining factor when you’re thinking about the type of business you want.   “Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, and skilful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives.” - William A. Foster Enjoyment & Profits To have a financially successful business you need to focus your efforts into the areas of your business you enjoy most and ideally, the areas that have the highest profit margin, or high dollar value per hour – it’s that simple.  Don’t get me wrong, every business owner can make good money by fulfilling the basic requirements of their chosen profession or trade, which many do, however, if you’re bored with your daily routine, and you want a pay rise, you need to focus your efforts into the areas of your business with the best returns and most enjoyment. Get The Business Ratio Correct This doesn’t mean you’ll never do anything again in your business that you don’t like doing; it’s more about getting the ratio right between what you like to do, and what you do not like to do. It’s also important to identify and stop the activities you should not be doing, especially if you also don’t like them. Limit Exposure  If you’re working all week doing work you despise, it’s going to be a long and uninspiring week, regardless of the money, but if you can limit your exposure to what you don’t like it will make your week far more enjoyable. For example, when I worked in my podiatry business, there were things I did not enjoy doing, but before I applied this principle about getting the ratio right, I did everything because I knew no better. Eventually, I got to the point where I wanted to leave the podiatry profession and do something else, but a strange thing happened. When I limited my exposure to the things I did not like to do and focused my efforts on doing the things I did enjoy three things happened: Work was more fun. I made more money. And I had more time off. And when I did have to do the things I did not like to do, they didn’t seem so bad after all, and doing them on an occasional basis was enjoyable. It’s funny how our minds work. You Must Attend Workshops   I would love to take full credit for coming up with this realisation about work ratios, however, I first came across the idea after I attended a weekend workshop on how to have a more profitable business. After I attended this weekend seminar my thinking changed and so did my business. Within three months of attending this weekend seminar, my business turnover doubled, and I never looked back. I can’t stress enough the importance of continually educating yourself and why it’s important to look outside of your profession. I talk about this event on a previous podcast episode: Adding A Zero To Your Financial Goals I can’t place enough emphasis on attending events, and this is why I also run my events because I know how much they can help other business people.  When The Student Is Ready  You may find it hard to believe that one-weekend seminar made such a difference to my life, but that’s all it takes. Unfortunately, you do not know which weekend seminar it is going to be! There’s a saying, “When the student is ready...the teacher will come”, and this applies to everyone. I have spent a small fortune on self-education and development over the past thirty years, and I will continue to do so because I understand the value I receive. New Or Existing Business?   If you’re about to open your own business, now is the perfect time to start asking yourself, what type of business do I want? There is no right or wrong answer – you just need to decide, become focused, and then commit to it 100%. If you’ve been in business for a number of years and you’re feeling a little trapped in what you’ve created, as I did, don’t despair – just start making small changes now and over time you’ll see the benefits. Start Small   The tip is to START SMALL. Do not try to change everything about your business all at once, otherwise, you will create overwhelm for you and your team. I’ve done this before as well and it’s it doesn’t take long for before you go back to the way things were. Just like exercise, you won’t see much change in the first few weeks, but after a few months, the changes will become evident. Just give it time.  If you have any questions about this podcast or blog please send me an email: [email protected].   If you like this episode, you will enjoy: Episode 114: 13 Reason Why You Should Start A Podcast  iTunes Reviews MOST RECENT 5-STAR REVIEW - INFORMATIVE & FUN I thoroughly enjoy listening to Tyson's conversational style podcasts. I have listened to them from day one, as they are always interesting and fun. The guest’s topics are always diverse in delivering useful information and tips for any business owner. Leticia M. Moran via Apple Podcasts · Australia · 12/04/18 If you enjoy It’s No Secret with Dr T., please tell your friends, and if you enjoy it a lot, it will put a HUGE smile on my face if you left a review on iTunes. Reviews do two things: It gives social proof this show is worth checking out It lets the host know that people are listening and care Newsletter If you want to be kept up to date with my EVENTS and other activities, please sign up to my NEWSLETTER. I promise not to spam you with daily emails making false claims.  

Larry Roberts lives in Lewisville, Texas and he is a Business Intelligence Analyst, author of an Amazon #1 Bestseller, host of the Readily Random Podcast and owner of Readily Random Media. He is also a bit of a comedian and uses comedy to get his point across.  As expected, my conversation with Larry Roberts was random, and we covered a lot of topics, but we did pull out some golden nuggets along the way. High-Level Reporting As a Business Intelligence Analyst and collecting data, it's about knowing what is important before you deep dive. Of course, there is a discovery process, which helps identify what is valuable and there’s always room for improvement. When analysing data, it’s important to talk to the individuals that the process is going to impact the most. His First Business Venture His first business, which he ran alongside his day job, got too big too fast and he eventually had to decide to quit his day job or to sell the business. He still regrets the decision he made. There were a lot of takeaways from this experience: You don’t need to know everything before you get started. You do have to love what you’re doing more than the money that you make. He learnt how to start a business and how to run a business, but he never had an exit strategy when it mattered most, which is why he had to make a forced decision to keep his day job (career) or keep the business. Giving up your career is a risky option. Passion For What You Do It’s easy to tell if you’re passionate about what you’re doing, you’re always looking for ways to improve and get better, and you do it automatically.  Passionate people also engage a business coach or mentor to help guide them through the process of what it is they want to learn. A business coach and mentor speed up the learning process. Podcasting For Your Business We’re often asked if every business can benefit from a podcast and the answer is YES because a podcast can be whatever you want it to be. You need to share what you know. Larry gives a great example of ‘Larry The Landscaper’ and how his knowledge of landscaping may not appeal to the masses, and it won’t become the world’s greatest podcast, but it will appeal to a small niche of people, and that’s what you want. It’s realism as its best. Podcasting keeps you in the ear of your target audience and it’s one of the cheapest marketing tools you will ever use. Avoid Bad Courses You need to avoid paying for overpriced courses, run by people that do not have experience. Check their credentials and make sure they know what they’re talking about, and have they done what it is you want to learn.  Using Comedy Comedy is a tool, and it's an excellent way to break the ice with any crowd. There will always be that one person in the room that is a tough nut to crack, and if you can get them to laugh, you’ve got everyone. Comedy is a great way to get an important point across because laughter helps with retention. An audience will always remember a speaker that makes them laugh, but be warned, do not use canned jokes that do not fit the situation, it will make you look bad. Monday Morning Tip You control your happiness, even if you’re in a bad environment. You can choose to let a situation piss you off, or decide to look at it differently and therefore affect you differently. If you have any questions about this podcast episode, please send me an email at [email protected] or connect with Larry Roberts at Readily Random Media.  If you like this episode you'll also enjoy:  Not Liking Your Career Path with Eric Hunley iTunes Reviews If you're enjoying It’s No Secret with Dr T., please tell your friends and family, and if you enjoy it a lot, it will put a HUGE smile on my face if you wrote a review on iTunes. Reviews do two things: It gives social proof this show is worth checking out It lets the host know that people are listening and care Newsletter If you want to be kept up to date with my EVENTS and other activities, please sign up to my NEWSLETTER. I promise not to spam you with daily emails. 

When it comes to purchasing equipment for your business, there are two types of equipment purchases you can make. One is income producing equipment and the other is non-income producing equipment. For example, let’s say you need to purchase eight chairs for your reception and you’re deciding between a $150 chair and a $400 chair, which means you will spend $1200 or $3200 to purchase the eight chairs. In addition to this the comfort levels of the chairs are about the same, and at first glance, they look similar as well. This is when you need to stop, think and ask two questions: Will the $150 chairs be sufficient for your current needs? Can you use the $2000 you save elsewhere in your business? Brand If a $150 chair will be sufficient and serve the intended purpose why spend the extra $250 per chair, especially if it’s not going to take anything away from your brand. I know from experience that you are better off saving the $2000, or investing the $2000 towards income-producing equipment that will generate income for years to come. Best ROI As your business generates revenue, you can save it and earn interest, or you can reinvest your money into income-producing equipment. Ask yourself where are you going to get the best return on your investment?  If you had $30,000 sitting in the bank account, earning 10% interest, you’re only getting $3000 income per year, but if you invested the same amount of money into purchasing income producing equipment, how many times would you need to use the equipment to get the same return? When I purchased a milling machine to make orthotics for my podiatry business in 2008 it cost approximately $75,000 to set it all up. In the first year of operation, it saved my company about $120,000 in lab fees. After taking away the costs of materials and running costs of the equipment, I got my money back in the first year, and over the next eight years, up until selling my business, I was getting up to a 150% return on my initial investment. Borrowing Of course, not everyone has $75,000 sitting in a bank account, so if you borrowed $75,000 at 10%, and you were getting a 100% return on your investment, it’s still a worthwhile income-producing purchase. Equipment Goals Before you purchase new equipment, you must set equipment goals. Purchasing equipment without setting equipment goals makes no sense, and I’ve seen a lot of expensive dust collectors sitting in the corners of many businesses because no goals or outcomes were set before the equipment purchase. So, before making any equipment purchases, you must ask yourself the following question:  How long will it take before I get my full investment back? To work this out, you need to know: How much you’re going to charge? How many times does this service/equipment need to be utilised? When you know this information, you can set realistic goals and calculate your return on investment. What Does The Math Tell You?   A $10,000 piece of equipment being charged out at $250 per user needs to be used 40 times to get your money back, which is less than once per week. Is this realistic? What if it’s used twice per week, that would be 104 uses for the year and would generate $26,000 in gross revenue. That’s a high ROI. In my example with the milling machine, it was about saving money per use, more so than charging out a fee per use, but in the end, it works the same way. What Is Your Marketing Strategy? As part of your goal setting process, you should also develop a marketing strategy. You may only need to use your new equipment 40 times to get your $10,000 investment back, but how are planning to achieve this goal? What marketing tactics are you going to employ? Opportunities Income-producing equipment should be a business priority over non-income producing equipment, and it can and should be used to set your business apart from your competition. Think about the services you currently offer and can you offer more? In my industry, there is one piece of equipment that only costs about $300 to set up, yet not every podiatrist uses it, and it can add an extra $10,000+ to the bottom line with little to no effort. So, keep your eyes open for opportunities, and remember a clients bum will rarely tell the difference between a $150 and $400 chair, but they will notice a business that reinvests their profits into new equipment and technology that will provide a better, faster, more efficient outcome for them. Competitors  If you can purchase something that none of your competitors is using it will set you apart from the crowd, but first, do the math, work out if it is a viable purchase, set your goal for your ROI and have a marketing strategy in place before you make the purchase. Get this right, and you’ll set yourself up for income producing equipment success. Mentoring Purchasing income producing equipment and developing a marketing strategy and tactics is something I have done a lot of coaching and mentoring around, so if you need help in this area, please reach out and contact me at [email protected] If you like this episode, you'll also enjoy: Create A Buzz by Marketing Early iTunes Reviews If you enjoy It’s No Secret with Dr T., please tell your friends, and if you enjoy it a lot, it will put a HUGE smile on my face if you left a review on iTunes. Reviews do two things: It gives social proof this show is worth checking out It lets the host know that people are listening and care Newsletter If you want to be kept up to date with my EVENTS and other activities, please sign up to my NEWSLETTER. I promise not to spam you with daily emails or tell you about all the fake clients I've helped achieve a 214% increase in business in 3-months. 

They say if you love what you do you’ll never work a day in your life, and my guest Lonnie Beck is doing exactly that. He is a 5th Dan Black Belt, and he has been able to turn his passion for martial arts into a thriving, successful business.  Lonnie and business partner and friend Somnath Sikdar purchased Dragon Gym in Southeast Pennsylvania in 2008, and they have been able to achieve fantastic business growth over the past 10-years. What makes this business story even more extraordinary is it's the same martial arts school where they both started as kids.  Developing Your Skills As a business owner it’s crucial to be improving your skills continually and at the same time be prepared to make changes in your business if you want it to grow consistently and to stay competitive. Work/Life Balance Takes Planning When Lonnie purchased Dragon Gym, he was in his mid-twenties, full of energy and single. Moving ahead ten years, he is married with a daughter, meaning the schedule needed to be adjusted, but this was not a problem, as it was planned for and well thought out way ahead of time. Setting Up Systems Right from the outset, Lonnie knew you couldn’t take four martial arts classes a day, every day, for the rest of your life, as instructing does take a toll on your body. Instructing at a high level is a young person game, so very early on they planned for the business to be able to run without them and the only way to do this was to develop sound business systems. A successful business also needs to have the right people in the right positions. Educating Yourself & Self Improvement Lonnie has developed himself personally by having various business coaches and mentors, doing a lot of reading and being part of business mastermind groups. It’s crucial to pull information from different people and different industries because the martial arts industry is quite small and stagnate. Nutrition & Exercise Is The Root Of All Happiness A lot of people feel guilt and regret by the way they look because they know they are eating all the wrong foods and not exercising, but to turn this around it all begins by changing the way you talk to yourself. You need to find that inner light of happiness. When you exercise and eat healthier the conversations you have with yourself are far more positive, and this positivity is transferred to the people around you, making your life better. Help Yourself First It’s no different to the instructions we receive on every flight, in case of an emergency and oxygen mask will fall from the compartment above, put on your mask first before trying to help others. If you don’t work on yourself first, you cannot help others, and yes, you may be able to fake it for a while, but eventually, you will break. Start With Small Wins It’s about developing small wins you can hang onto. With your health, going to the gym or making a healthy smoothie is a small win. In business, it could be developing a simple phone system that you’ve been putting off. It’s important not to try to change everything at once. If there are bad habits in play, eliminate one at a time, don’t try to give up everything at once because it's unlikely you will succeed.  Improved Performance with Mental Preparation  When you decide you’re going to show up and make an effort to perform better, and you feel good about yourself, and you’re confident about the decisions you’re making, no challenges that come your way will be a problem because you’re mentally prepared Monday Morning Tip It all starts with positive self-talk; Pay attention to that voice in your head and consciously change it to be more uplifting. You can’t change anything in life unless you start to change your behaviours, including your diet, exercise and how you speak to yourself. If you have any questions about this podcast or blog, please send me an email at [email protected].   You can also connect directly with Lonnie Beck via Facebook or at Dragon Gym, especially if you're keen to know more about his Discovery Group business mentoring program. If I owned a martial arts school, I would be contacting them immediately.   If you like this episode, you'll also enjoy: Episode 018: Mastermind With The Dragon Master with Somnath Sikdar Episode 002: Communication, Persuasion & Influence with Dave Frees iTunes Reviews If you enjoy It’s No Secret with Dr T., please tell your friends, and if you enjoy it a lot, it will put a HUGE smile on my face if you left a review on iTunes. Reviews do two things: It gives social proof this show is worth checking out It lets the host know that people are listening and care Newsletter If you want to be kept up to date with my EVENTS and other activities, please sign up to my NEWSLETTER. I promise not to spam you with daily emails or tell you about all the fake clients I've helped achieve a 214% increase in business in 3-months. 

This episode is all about customer service, acknowledging mistakes when they occur, and using the recovery paradox to build your brand and customer loyalty. One of my previous podcast guests said that consumers today are far wiser and savvier than they use to be because they have technology at their fingertips and they are not afraid to use it. Seeing a friend reading online reviews about a restaurant before deciding where to eat is no longer unusual, in fact, I’d say it’s quite normal, and therefore not only are consumers wiser and savvier, they also know what good and bad service look like. August 2018 In August of this year, I had problems arise with two companies, Qantas and a hotel in Cairns where I ran a one-day workshop, and I’ve been waiting until now to talk about them both because I wanted to see how they handled my concerns. Qantas Story I was flying back from Canberra to Cairns, via Sydney in the late afternoon and to cut a long story short Sydney was hit by major electrical storms and the airport was temporarily shut down. Well, so we thought. My flight was due to depart at 5 pm, but it was one delay after another until eventually it was midnight and all flights out of Sydney were cancelled. Airport Mayhem Of course, you could imagine the mayhem and noise in the airport with thousands upon thousands of people stranded and everyone headed, as instructed, to the baggage carousel trying to locate their bags. It was a free for all and respect for your fellow man had gone straight out the window. People were yelling at each and also screaming at the Qantas staff for answers, and to be honest they knew as much as we did. It looked like it was the end of the world I do hope we never have a zombie apocalypse because watching the behaviour of some people was embarrassing. The Announcement Eventually, an announcement came over the loudspeaker telling everyone to find accommodation up to $200, keep the receipt and to contact Qantas afterwards to claim it back. I tried desperately to find a room but by the time I got my bag it was impossible and I gave up about 2 am. Qantas App I checked my Qantas App and there was no update on my cancelled flight so I thought to bugger this, it's time to take action. Jetstar has a flight leaving at 6 am and that’s only 4 hours away, I’ll book the ticket through the Qantas App, which was the same dollar value as the accommodation and sleep at the airport. I’ll then contact Qantas and see if I can claim the money back for the flight. As I made this decision and booked the flight, unbeknown to me, Qantas had already booked me on a Qantas flight around the same time. Two Flights I now had two flights booked. I tried cancelling my Jetstar flight via the Qantas App, but it said I had to contact Jetstar Customer Service. Well, of course, I couldn’t because their phones were still congested at 2 am. So I had a bright idea, at 5.30am I’ll go to the Qantas counter when it opens, explain the situation, and they’ll be able to contact Jetstar and cancel the flight. The Qantas check-in counter told me they couldn’t do this and suggested I checked my bags in now to secure my Qantas flight and walk over to the Jetstar terminal, which was only about five minutes away. Unfortunately, Jetstar said NO because I missed the cutoff to cancel a flight. Contacted Qantas By now I was so tired I didn’t really care and thought I’ll sort it all out later when I eventually get home, which I did. I wrote to Qantas, explained the whole situation and they gave me a refund on my flight, which to be honest I was not expecting. And to be truthful I wasn’t even going to write to them and try, but my wife insisted that I did and I’m glad I listened.  So it’s a big THANK YOU TO QANTAS, not only for having a great team at the Sydney airport but also for their customer service department on how prompt they handled my concern. They immediately acknowledge my problem via email and kept me updated throughout the whole decision process. Very professional. Cairns Hotel Unfortunately, I didn't have the same experience with the hotel in Cairns.  Now don’t get me wrong, it was a nice venue and very affordable for running an event, but the old saying ‘you get what you pay for’ is probably true here. I booked a full day event for 46 people, which included morning and afternoon tea and lunch, but was told I had to pay for 50 people as this is what I originally booked for and didn’t give them 30-days notice of the change, which I did but I couldn’t be bothered arguing over 4 places. When I turned up on the day they had only set the room up for 32 people. What the? Listen To My Gut Fortunately, my gut told me to arrive extra early because I had an uneasy feeling because the manager was the third person I had dealt with over a 6-month period. When I pointed out the error to the manager there was no apology and she basically didn’t care. She grabbed one of her team members, who I must say was great and told him to quickly bring in some more tables and chairs. Problem #2 They used the wrong sized tables and you could not seat 46 people. No one attending my event probably noticed I never sat down and a few other people were sitting on stools. It actually made them look like planned helpers, so we got away with it in the end. Problem #3 The next issue was the food, there was not enough. Because they set the room up for 32 people, I think they only catered for 32 people. I even told the manager my concerns and she disagreed and said there should have been plenty. She had the same attitude when I first mentioned there as only 32 seats. When I first told her she said I was wrong, there are 46. I had to make her come into the room and count them. Feedback I won’t keep going on with everything else that went wrong that day, but what I would like to point out is they sent me an email after my event asking for feedback and I sent them a very long response and all I got back was crickets. A simple apology or an acknowledgement of ‘we dropped the ball’ would have been nice, but instead just crickets. The Recovery Paradox So is there a reason for sharing these two stories? Yes, there is. It brings to light the Recovery Paradox. The recovery paradox is a situation in which a customer/client or patient thinks more highly of a business (or person) after the business has corrected a problem with their service or product, compared to how they would regard the business if non-faulty service or product had been provided. I discussed this subject in Episode 12: The Recovery Paradox with Dr Jesse Green and how problems and complaints can build brand loyalty if handled the right way. Qantas Was The Winner In my two stories, you can see that Qantas has come out smelling of roses, while the Cairns hotel smells a little like swamp water. So the next time you get a complaint about your business or service do not immediately react and get all defensive, and start calling them idiots, look at it as an opportunity to learn. And it may be an opportunity to build an even better relationship with the customer/client or patient. This is exactly what happened with Dr Jesse Green and I. We have a very interesting story on how we connected and now, because of the recovery paradox we not only work together, we are best of friends. If you have any questions about this podcast or blog please send me an email at [email protected] and also check out my updated website.   Also, if you enjoy It’s No Secret with Dr T., please tell your friends and if you enjoy it a lot, it would put a huge smile on my face if you left a review on iTunes. Reviews do two things: It gives social proof and it tells people this show is worth checking out It lets the host know that people are listening and care. Newsletter If you want to be kept up to date with my EVENTS and other activities, please sign up to my NEWSLETTER. I promise not to spam you to death with daily emails telling you how good I am or phantom clients I have helped. 

Regardless of what you do there needs to be passion, and there was no shortage of this with my guest David Rollins who is the best selling author of eleven books, documentary filmmaker and soon to be credited scriptwriter for an upcoming feature film.    He describes himself as a cynical bastard, but I think this makes him a better writer.    Today we discuss: His journey from journalist to becoming a professional marketer His prolific book writing skills and his most recent book Kingdom Come, which is the seventh book with action hero and Special Investigations Officer Vin Cooper.  Why your job, no matter what you do ends up like Groundhog Day His first booked was a side hustle How writing changed his life, not financially, but it made him aware of what he wanted to do with his life How the publishing industry has changed It's much easier to now to write a book Much harder to find an audience Writing is easy and fun, but it's about commercial success  Therefore using a traditional publisher gives you access to marketing  When you're writing your book, you've got to tap into the correct audience The USA is the market you want to crack February 2018 Documentary Trial of Midnight Rider - Railroaded In The Deep South, which delves into the conspiracy behind the death of a camera assistant on a 2014 film Midnight Rider about the Allman Brothers.  How his life was in danger when he dug too deep Writing Tip: If you're going to write a movie script for a feature film, start with the money first. Get funding, then write the script. At present, he is writing a comedy about the whole coffee subculture.  "Coffee snobs are like wine snobs on crack".    If you think Trump is an idiot, you'll love his latest book Kingdom Come, but if you think Trump is fantastic, this book will give you the shits.    Monday Morning Tip If you want to be a good writer you have to employ all five senses. What is the character feeling, seeing, smelling, hearing and tasting? It makes the characters more real, and there's got to be some conflict.   Connect with David Rollins   Website: http://davidrollins.net/   His character Vin Cooper has his own Instagram account if you want to check it out: Vincooper04   You can also order a signed of Kingdom Come   If you have any questions about this podcast or blog, please send me a direct email at [email protected]. And if you're a Podiatrist or an allied health professional, do not underestimate the benefits of having a business coach or mentor because you will get the results you're after much faster.  If you like this episode you'll also enjoy:  Not Liking Your Career Path with Eric Hunley Free Download Yes, you'll have to give me your email address but don't panic you can get the free info and unsubscribe afterwards, and if you don't want the download, which is pretty awesome, you can stay up to date with what I'm doing be registering for my weekly NEWSLETTER 12 Secrets to Get More People Through Your Front Door Recent Facebook Review Dr Tyson Franklin ALWAYS seems to have a knack of stripping away the BS to give really good advice on so many topics. His knowledge of the good bad and indifferent in so many professions give him a broad and open-minded view on how to approach many challenges in business and personal life. Tyson ROCKS - Leisel Pisani.  If you'd like to leave a review on Facebook or iTunes, it would put a big smile on my face. 

Many small businesses are not profitable, and the owners do not enjoy what they do each day because they do not take time off to work on the business. They need to learn how to earn more with less struggle.  My guest today is Prosper Taruvinga, and he is a digital marketing strategist and owns a company called Livelong Digital.  No Strategy A lot of business owners are busy doing it all, but they have no idea if anything they do is really sticking long-term.  They have no strategy or systems in place for lead generation and no marketing plan to nurture and convert leads.  Bottom line, they have no idea what is working and where the money is coming from. Is it their most recent ad, speaking gig, recall system or website update?  3 M's of Marketing Message - What are your products and what are they getting out of you? What is your POD: Point of Difference?  Market - Who is that person? What is their pain point? What do they want from you and what are they going to benefit from using you? Media (to reach the market) - There is a lot of choices, so you must first know your message and market before you choose your channel.  What Is Your Song? You need to start singing your song, not the song of others. Ask yourself: What is your claim to fame? What are you known for? Why should the market single you out? Too often small business owners make the mistake of beginning with media before knowing their song. Build Your Brand When you know your message and market, you can select your media. You may transmit your message via social media, website, or podcast to find the person with the right type of pain. Do this right, and over time you will build your BRAND.  Social Media Do not treat all social media platforms equal because they are not equal LINKEDIN: This is the only place you can go online with your pants on. It's a professional platform and not used as often on weekends.  FACEBOOK: People use Facebook to be entertained and sometimes learning, but more often than not it's to laugh at others misery. Therefore you need to be part of the conversation, so speak with them, not at them.  INSTAGRAM: Is a mixed bag. If you want to test how many people are connected with you and care about what you post, try posting a good photo without any hashtags (#) and see the response. These will be your real followers.  Use social media, so people get to know, like and trust you and your brand.  Monday Morning Tip Gratitude. Be grateful for the chair you sit on, the computer you work on, the roof over your head, the business that nourishes your bank account and the opportunity to do meaningful work.  Connect with Prosper If you do a Google search for Prosper Taruvinga you will quickly find him, otherwise, go to his website Livelong Digital, or you can send him an email at [email protected] If you have any questions about this podcast or blog, please send me a direct email at [email protected]. And if you're a Podiatrist or an allied health professional, do not underestimate the benefits of having a business coach or mentor because you will get the results you're after much faster.  If you liked this episode You'll also like: Social Media Goals with Josh Rimmington Free Download Yes, you'll have to give me your email address but don't panic you can get the free info and unsubscribe afterwards, and if you don't want the download, which is pretty awesome, you can stay up to date with what I'm doing be registering for my weekly NEWSLETTER 12 Secrets to Get More People Through Your Front Door Recent Facebook Review Dr Tyson Franklin ALWAYS seems to have a knack of stripping away the BS to give really good advice on so many topics. His knowledge of the good bad and indifferent in so many professions give him a broad and open-minded view on how to approach many challenges in business and personal life. Tyson ROCKS - Leisel Pisani.  If you'd like to leave a review on Facebook or iTunes it would put a huge smile on my face. 

If you want to grow your business you've got to take the blinkers off and start learning from other professions. James Crook is a business coach to the Massage Profession, and he is kicking more goals than most, so it's time to start listening.  In this podcast we discuss: Why there are riches in niches. Where to find your ideal client What are your goals for starting a business Why you need to set up systems in your business The three amazing M's Mindset - Framing your thinking Marketing - The engine room for growth Mechanics - Systems behind the business Learning from other professions Why becoming a podcast guest is great for business Allow 1-hour per day for things to go wrong Monday Morning Tip When you walk into work, start your day by setting your intentions for the rest of the week. Look at your to-do-list and block out time for the essential tasks.  Connect with James Crook Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JmsCrk Website: https://massagechampions.com  Book: https://massagechampions.com/product/book/ If you have any questions about this podcast or blog, please send me a direct email at [email protected]. And if you're a Podiatrist or in the health industry and in private practice, or considering going into private practice quite soon, do not undervalue the benefits of having a business coach or mentor because you will get the results you're after much faster.  If you liked this episode You'll also like: But My Business Is Different  Free Download Yes, you'll have to give me your email address but don't panic you can get the free info and unsubscribe afterwards, and if you don't want the download, which is pretty awesome, you can stay up to date with what I'm doing be registering for my weekly NEWSLETTER 12 Secrets to Get More People Through Your Front Door  

Today I want to talk about cash, or more specifically cash flow and why cash is king. It doesn’t matter how much money you make, what’s important is how much of it you have available after collecting all payments and paying out all your monthly expenses. Many businesses struggle in their first few years because they’ve gone into their business venture full of enthusiasm and wearing rose coloured glasses, and then quickly run out of money because the money going out exceeds the money coming in. I knew a couple who spent over $200,000 to open a podiatry business on the Sunshine Coast, and they went broke within 12-months. Was it because they were dumb? Well, the jury is still out on that, but from what I observed it was a cash flow problem from day one. From the outset they: Began their business venture with limited capital and therefore borrowed too much money, resulting in larger than normal monthly repayments, which immediately ate into their cash flow. Purchased equipment they did not need Made purchases for home and added it to the business repayments. (That’s pretty dumb) Gave out accounts without any questions Gave discounts too often Got financial advice from unqualified family and friends Began with limited CASH Right from day one, they were trading with insufficient cash flow, and this caused them a lot of stress. Starting a business this way is crazy. But, I’d like to point out running out of money before running out of the month is not just a problem for new businesses either, it can also happen to establish businesses if they do not pay attention into watching their cash flow and monthly expenditure. Even a successful business can go broke if they are not getting paid fast enough. If you must pay $10,000 rent this month, a $20,000 payment owed to you in 90-days is not very helpful, so the speed at which your accounts are paid is important. If your business gives out accounts you need to have a strict account policy and everyone needs to adhere to it and if someone is late with a payment, there should be a process to follow and do not give them additional credit hoping they will pay. When I had my podiatry business I had a zero account policy, and yes, a few patients did complain, but they also made an appointment and paid their account in full. And they returned and never asked for an account a second time. After 30 years I had no bad debts. You may be thinking this is impossible in your industry and maybe that’s true, but still, give it some thought, or at least review your current payment terms. If your invoice says 30, 60 and 90-days then you’re telling everyone they’ve got 90-days. Why not change it to 7, 14, 21-day and overdue. I feel that every business should work towards having enough cash in their bank account to cover all their business expenses, including wages for a minimum of three months. You may or may not agree, but that’s my thinking because lack of money is stressful, and stress affects your judgment and decision-making capabilities. You want to build your business with a clear head, not a cloudy head concerned with paying next month’s rent. Good cash flow allows you to: Pay all your accounts on time, which suppliers love, and it builds trust. And if for any reason you did get in a financial pickle down the track, your suppliers will help you where they can. Gives you the ability to purchase in bulk and make significant savings. Saves money on freight because you’re ordering fewer times throughout the year. Build trust with your team. Your team sees everything, and nothing destroys confidence in business more than ongoing phone calls and emails from creditors So here’s my warning: DO NOT OPEN your business if you don’t have enough capital and the cash to sustain the business. You are better to wait for another 12 to 18 months and do it properly because you also need to allow money for marketing. Marketing is going to be a key component to your business success, and many new businesses do not allow for marketing in their budget, and when business gets tough, marketing tends to be the first thing cut. That’s a big mistake, so make sure you budget for it in your financial forecast. So here’s my summary of today’s podcast: Cash is King Cash flow is the amount of money available to you each month after collecting all revenue and paying all your monthly bills. Ideally, you want to see your cash flow going upwards. If your business gives accounts limit the payment terms, or don’t give out accounts at all. Aim to have enough cash in your bank account to cover three months of expenses so you can think clearly. A good payment history builds trust. If you don’t have the capital and cash to start your business right now, don’t rush into it. If you have any questions about this podcast or blog, please send me a direct email at [email protected]. And if you're a Podiatrist or in the health industry and in private practice, or considering going into private practice quite soon, do not undervalue the benefits of having a business coach or mentor because you will get the results you're after much faster.  If you liked this episode You'll also like: But My Business Is Different  Free Download Yes, you'll have to give me your email address but don't panic you can get the free info and unsubscribe afterwards, and if you don't want the download, which is pretty awesome, you can stay up to date with what I'm doing be registering for my weekly NEWSLETTER 12 Secrets to Get More People Through Your Front Door

To be successful online, you must first work out your business goals, then look at which platforms are going to best help you in achieving those goals. Where do you want to be found will help decide where you put your time, effort and money. Will you spend more time focusing on SEO and building your organic traffic on your website, or paid advertising on Facebook and Google? JR Marketing  Josh Rimmington is from JR Marketing, and when he first consults with a client, he first needs to know what they want to achieve. Where is their business now and where do they want to take it? What Do You Want? Do they want to attract more new clients/customers/patients by increasing traffic to their website, or are branding and retention more critical? Once this is worked out, only then can an action plan be put in place.  Budget & Speed If you build it, they will come is a lie and does not apply to websites, especially if no one knows it exists or they cannot find it in any searches. Therefore you have two options: The first is increasing your organic traffic with better SEO, and local maps. Paid solutions, such as Adwords to increase web traffic. It all comes down to your budget and how much you're prepared to spend, and how fast you want to grow. Statistics have shown that 30% of Adwords ads get clicked on, compared to only 10% a few years ago, so people are getting more comfortable with paid advertising online. Adwords Versus Facebook Ads Important Tip: People DO NOT go to Facebook to find a service based business, they go to Facebook to connect with friends and family; therefore if you do an advertisement it must be educational and provide useful information. Whereas Adwords works differently, people are searching for answers, and if your ad can answer this questions and offer a solution, it will do well. People don't like being sold to, but they do like to buy. Instagram follows the same rules as Facebook, and if you want to advertise on IG, you need to grab their attention quickly with a great picture. Best Marketing The best marketing doesn't feel like marketing; it comes across as being very natural. Ask yourself, what are people doing when they're on each platform and how can you grab their attention without interrupting or annoying them. Movement Short videos and GIF's work well in advertising on Facebook and Instagram because movement automatically grabs the viewers attention. Future Trends Facebook LIVE has been around for some time, but Facebook has invested heavily into Facebook WATCH and IGTV, so this is a good indicator that quick little stories are going to become even more popular. Audio and Voice Search: As Siri, Echo and Alexa become more mainstream, what people say, not what people type will be more important in SEO. For example, if you're searching for a Dentist, you may type Dentist in Cairns, but if you were talking to Siri, you might say, Hey Siri where's the closest Dentist to Earlville Shopping Centre. Therefore, think about how people ask questions and make sure your website SEO sounds natural. Pay Attention If you pay attention to what your clients/customers/ patients are doing, and also what you are doing as well in your own life, it will be a possible guide to future trends. Monday Morning Tip Choose one platform or marketing method and get good at it. It may be audio, video, or a single online platform. Just do one thing exceptionally well, test it and learn from it, and then apply it to other platforms at a later date. Don't chase all the shiny bright lights. If you have any questions about this podcast, please email me at [email protected], and if you enjoy this podcast show, it will put a huge SMILE on my face if you gave it a REVIEW on iTunes.  Also if you're in the health industry never undervalue the benefits of having a business coach or mentor because you will reach your goals faster.   Connect With Josh Website: https://www.jrmg.com.au Facebook & Linkedin: Josh Rimmington  Instagram: Dadpreneur If you liked this episode You'll also enjoy: Why Linkedin Rules Over Other Social Media  Micro-Story Telling Free Download Yes, you'll have to give me your email address but don't panic you can unsubscribe afterwards, and if you don't want the download you can stay up to date with what I'm doing be registering for my weekly NEWSLETTER 12 Secrets to Get More People Through Your Front Door Most Recent iTunes Review  Smart, practical advice ????? Tyson’s podcast is packed with smart, practical advice to be seized by any entrepreneur. I highly recommend listening to his show. supmuhhumbruh via Apple Podcasts · United States of America · 11/03/18 

We’ve all seen sporting stars and celebs get dropped by sponsors and advertisers when they do something stupid in public, or they say something that’s in contrast to public opinion or the beliefs and values of their sponsor. Well, this is not what I’m talking about here. What I want to discuss this episode is how advertisers go running in the opposite direction when they think you’re no longer a source of income for them. They drop you like a bad habit.  For more detailed show notes please visit my website https://www.tysonfranklin.com/podcast  If you liked this episode You'll also like: Marketing The Invisible  Free Download Yes, you'll have to give me your email address but don't panic you can get the free info and unsubscribe afterwards.   12 Secrets to Get More People Through Your Front Door Most Recent iTunes Review  ????? Tyson’s podcast is packed with smart, practical advice to be seized by any entrepreneur. I highly recommend listening to his show. supmuhhumbruh via Apple Podcasts · United States of America · 11/03/18

Building relationships through gratitude will amplify the impact your marketing already has. It's about relationship marketing, and using cards and gifts is one of the easiest and most cost-effective marketing tools you will ever use.   Good Intentions Maelea Galyon is my guest today from Send Out Cards and as she explains we all have good intentions, but not taking action on these intentions is what lets people down.  Using Send Out Cards helps you take action right there and then. You can: Thank you somebody Celebrate somebody Recognise somebody Mourn with somebody This is all done through her website buildingrelationships.cards And if you go to the website everyone is entitled to one free card to test out the system.  Last Time When was the last time you sent someone a postcard or a simple thank you card? If you can't remember it's been too long.  Not Handwritten Some people say the cards are not handwritten and therefore do not have the same impact, but this is not true. It's the intention behind the card whcih is important.  Cost Effective Marketing Many businesses spend thousands of dollars on monthly advertising, whereas sending out a card, including postage can be done for as little as $3.00.  Maelea gave a great example of a plumber who sends out a thank you card to every client just for letting him give a quote and bid on the job. And another one after he gets it.  (Very Smart) It's A Marketing Tool  Thanking people can become a simple process and it will increase business referrals.  Use the 80:20 Rule. 80% of your touches with the client should be about celebrating them and 20% about asking for business and referrals.  No Negatives No one will ever complain when they receive a thank you card or small gift. It just won't happen. So if there are no negatives there are only positives for doing it.  Increased Awareness Once you build a habit of looking for reasons to celebrate other people and reasons to reach out, it changes you. You become more considerate and it increases your awareness of what is happening around you.  Top Of Heart There are many ways to use cards and gifts and if you create a good reach out system you don't just become top of mind, you become top of heart.   Monday Morning Tip Start your day looking for reasons to be kind and aim for reaching out to three people each day.  If you have any questions about this podcast, please email me at [email protected], and if you enjoy this podcast show, it will put a huge SMILE on my face if you gave it a REVIEW on iTunes.  Contact Maelea Maelea Galyon can be found on Facebook and Linkedin and her direct email address is [email protected] Website: buildingrelationships.cards Don't forget to go to her website and use the one free card option.  Free Downloads To be open and honest, you'll have to give me your email address but don't panic you can get the free info and unsubscribe afterwards, or you may decide to hang around for a while and even subscribe to my Newsletter.  12 Secrets to Get More People Through Your Front Door Most Recent iTunes Review  Smart, Practical Advice ????? Tyson’s podcast is packed with smart, practical advice to be seized by any entrepreneur. I highly recommend listening to his show. supmuhhumbruh via Apple Podcasts. USA· 11/03/18  

We’ve all heard the saying that everything is hard until it gets easy, and the reason I bring this up is that I recently joined the gym. It has been a fantastic reminder why people need to have a business coach or mentor if they want to accelerate the success of their business, avoid making mistakes and move from hard to easy much faster.  I know firsthand the power of having a business coach and mentor, not just because this is what I do, but because I floundered along in business for a number of years before engaging my first business coach about twenty years ago. But let me explain my recent gym experience and the thinking behind this podcast.  First Step - I Just Did It I drive past the same gym every-single-day, and every day for the past few years I've been telling myself I need to start doing some resistance training and get my body back into shape. I had all the usual back and forth conversations in my head, the why's and why not's, and then about two weeks ago I just took the plunge and pulled into the car park, walk in and signed up for an 18-month program.  I thought if I was going to do this I had to commit 100%. (No Fence Sitting) Session One By Myself So, after completing my paperwork, I went home told my wife and daughter what I had done, and I went for my first session the following day. Surprisingly I felt pretty good.  As part of my membership, I also received a personal training session. First PT Session  So about 10 minutes into my session I realised my trainer was pure evil, and she pushed me a lot harder than I had pushed myself two-days previous. I also realised that after a ten-year layoff from the gym my technique was not very good, so it was beneficial to receive a few pointers on how to position myself for maximum effectiveness and to reduce the chance of injury.  So after the first PT session, she gave me my program, and I was on my way. Self Motivation  I’ve always been self-motivated, so I knew I didn’t need a personal trainer every week. However, I did schedule a follow-up session next month so that I could review my progress.  Week Two Complete I’ve just completed week two, and I’m already finding the program the trainer wrote for me much easier to get through and in another two or three weeks, I’m expecting that I will be smashing it, which will be perfect timing for an updated program. After going through this process, it was a great reminder why one-on-one business coaching and mentoring, and even personal training is so important. Good Intentions No matter how good your intentions, rarely will we push ourselves as hard as someone else will drive us.  Take a look at the best sporting teams in the world and every individual sportsperson at the top of their game, the one thing they have in common is they all have a coach. And why do they have a coach? Because the coach will push them, and over time their fitness and skill levels improve.  A champion team will always beat a team of champions.  This quote sums up the importance of coaching because an experienced coach can take a group of good athletes and with some planning, strategy and tactics, they will flog a team of far better athletes that are trying to win just on skill alone.  You Need A Business Coach Or Mentor As individuals and business owners, we are no different.  Every successful business person I know has had coaches and mentors throughout their entrepreneurial journey. If you’re in business and you’re not reaching the levels of success you feel you deserve, especially if you think you're working hard, you need to get yourself a business coach or mentor. You will get where you're going much faster.  BUT Check Their Credentials Just make sure the person or company you choose to work with are qualified to be giving you advice, and they have a track record of success working with people in your industry. Don’t just choose the first business coach you come across. Interview them just like you would with any new employee about to join your team because they are part of your team.  Advice From Friends  Also, if you have friends with experience in running successful businesses and they are offering free advice, take it. But, free advice will not last forever.  It's no different to reading blogs and books, attending live events, watching videos online and listening to podcasts, just like this one. All this advice and knowledge is great, and it's free, but it's also very beige. It will help you to a point, but to go to that next level in business nothing beats one-on-one or group business coaching and mentoring.  My Background Is Podiatry My background is Podiatry, and I’ve set up, relocated and sold over 20 podiatry business in my career, and I’ve had quite a high level of success, which makes me extremely confident in my abilities to coach and mentor business owners in the health industry, not just podiatry.  Does this mean I couldn’t apply the business knowledge I have to other industries? No, it doesn't, but if a plumber were choosing between me, or a business coach that had worked with multiple plumbers previously, I would advise them to engage with the other person. I Only Need Marketing Help If your business is doing well, but you know you need some help with marketing, then get a coach or mentor with a proven track record of implementing successful marketing strategies.  In both my books, It's No Secret There's Money in Podiatry and It's No Secret There's Money in Small Business, the second have of both books is dedicated to marketing because marketing is such an essential aspect of running a successful business.  It's An Investment, Not An Expense  I know a lot of business owners put off the idea of getting a business coach or mentor because they think it's going to be too expensive and to be honest it’s only an expense if you do not receive the results you desire. This is why it is paramount that you do your research and find a coach or mentor with a proven track record of business success.  Visual Clues Try using visual clues. You would expect a personal trainer to look fit and healthy; you wouldn't expect them to be overweight, smoking and wearing a shirt with grease stains.  Business coaches and mentors will also have visual clues. Look for things like a modern website with regularly updated content, a newsletter subscription, a strong social media presence, credible testimonials with real details, and maybe they've won a business award or have written a book.  When you look at their social media, are they attending events and working on their own self-improvement?   Take The Plunge So if you've considered getting a coach or mentor and you keep putting it off or waiting for the perfect time to start, take the plunge and do it. Take some action and start your research right now. You've got nothing to lose and everything to gain, and it costs you nothing to do research.    If you have any questions about this podcast or blog please send me an email at [email protected]. And if you're in the health industry and in private practice, or considering it, do not undervalue to benefits of having a business coach or mentor because you will get results much faster.  If you liked this episode You'll also like: Mastermind with Dragon Master Somnath Sikdar Free Download Yes, you'll have to give me your email address but don't panic you can get the free info and unsubscribe afterwards.   12 Secrets to Get More People Through Your Front Door Most Recent iTunes Review  ????? This podcast is great to get your motivation up to pursue your business ideas! If your after great chats with business people who have been there and done that! This is the place to be. sammykkkkkkk via Apple Podcasts · Australia · 11/01/18

Minimalism and Generalism need to work side-by-side if you want to be better at everything and get more done each day and far more out of life, with less stress.  My guest Pat Flynn from Pennsylvania is a repeat offender on this podcast, and he appeared back on Episode 9: Being a Generalist When we spoke last, he mentioned the book he was in the process of writing, and now it is a reality - How To Be Better At (Almost) Everything.  Today we discuss:  Pat has two guiding principles: Minimalism: Working out the shortest path between A and B using a cross-over between effectiveness and efficiency, and Generalism: Being good to great in many things.  Learning anything quickly Stacking your Skills  The 4 R's Repetition Resistance Restriction * Review Restriction If you restrict one area in life or business, you are forced to improve in other areas. Pat gave an example of becoming a better guitar player by restricting the use of his fingers and a better martial artist by tieing one arm behind is back.  In business, Pat was naturally a good copywriter, and he used this skill to build his business, but he neglected his analytical skills, so he made a conscious decision he was going to focus and improve his analytical weakness and stop relying on his strength.  The Sydney City Roosters did this recently with their star (and injured) player, Cooper Cronk in the Grand Final. His injury forced them to think a different way and the Melbourne Storm was not ready for this change in mindset. See the story on Fox Sports: Why he couldn't have played the grand final without his teammates guarding his secret.  Bring Skills Together When you restrict a skill you were already good at and combine it with a new skill you have been forced to improve upon, you will become better overall at whatever you do.  Perfection Don't let perfect get in your way. If you wait for everything to be perfect, you could miss a lot of opportunities. Done and out the door is better than perfect and in the draw.  Great Great is the enemy of good: If you're waiting for that great idea to come before you take action it could be a long wait. You're better to keep applying good ideas, one after another until greatness appears.  Monday Morning Tip To be a generalist you need to become a short-term specialist, so focus on one or two things at a time and no more. Maintain your other skills in the process but don't try and get better at too many things at once or you will not succeed.  If you want to stalk Pat Flynn while he sleeps, you'll find him on most social media platforms or at: HowToBe BetterBook.Com ChroniclesofStrength.com You can also pre-order his book to receive a ton of bonuses.  If you have any questions about this podcast, please email me at [email protected], and if you enjoy this podcast show, it will put a huge SMILE on my face if you gave it a REVIEW on iTunes.  Free Downloads Yes, you'll have to give me your email address but don't panic you can get the free info and unsubscribe afterwards.   First 16 Pages of My Book – It’s No Secret There’s Money in Small Business. 12 Secrets to Get More People Through Your Front Door

Everything we do is either a deposit or withdrawal on our HEALTH BANK ACCOUNT, and you cannot keep making withdrawals without also making deposits otherwise your health will go into deficit.  Dr Howard Cohn is a Chiropractor and is the owner of the Cohn Health Institute in Costa Mesa, California, which is a health and wellness clinic.  On this podcast, we discuss why entrepreneurs need to stop and take time out if they want to rejuvenate their physical, emotional and nutritional bank accounts.  Health & Fitness  People get health and fitness confused. You can be healthy by eating well and not fit, and you can also be fit and not healthy by having a poor diet and not resting. "Just because you have cheques in your chequebook it doesn't mean you have money. Your health bank account works the same way".  Diet Is A Choice People let themselves down by making poor dietary choices. The easiest way to look after your health is to control what you eat. "People spend more money in the last two weeks of their life to stay alive than they do their whole life".  Steps To Start Improving Your Health Be accountable to someone. Tell someone you''re going to start eating better Eat raw green superfoods.  Take a pitstop. You need to take time out to rest Take supplements. Everyone has gaps in their diet, so take supplements to bridge the gap.  Make the body more Alkaline. If you're in an acidic state, your body will age quicker and be more inflamed.  "The next trillion dollar industry will be health and longevity." Developed Own Brand  Dr Cohn co-founder his a company called SevenPoint2 and developed his range of nutritional products comprising of Greens, Protein Shakes and Alkaline Boosters.  We heal when we sleep, but poor diet will affect the quality and long-term this will be damaging to our bodies. Alkaline Boosters will make your sleep more restful.  "When it comes to your health, there's only one way to coast, and that is downwards".  It's Not Sales Its Operation  Dr Cohn knew he had a great product, but not the right management team to take it globally, so he decided to team up with Seacret because they had a global operation.  "94% of failure in business is systems failure". Network Marketing Network marketing was the model he chose you to head down because it gave anyone with a few dollars in their pockets an opportunity to succeed, even though network marketing often receives a bad wrap.  Most successful entrepreneurs will talk positively about network marketing, which is why you should never take advice from anyone you wouldn't want to trade places with.  "We're often down on what we're not up on, and we only know what we're exposed to".  Monday Morning Tip Drink plenty of water to keep hydrated and eat raw green foods. You've got to get the body fed, and the cells in your body detoxified.  If you have any questions about this podcast episode or you'd like to know more about the SevenPoint2 or Seacret products please email me directly at [email protected]  Cohn Health Institute   SevenPoint2 & Secret Video  

I really enjoy marketing and the reason I like it so much is that you know when it works, plus I also enjoy the creative process and steps required to make a marketing plan a reality. But a good marketing plan does take time to develop.  Over the past 12 months, I have had to opportunity to speak in front of hundreds of people and after every speaking engagement someone will always ask, "how am I supposed to find time to fit marketing into my already busy schedule”? An Open Mind Finds Solutions That's a really good question and it's one I like because as long as you’re asking HOW it means you’re open to the possibility of finding a solution. Asking HOW questions are also far better than saying, “I don’t have time to do marketing” because by saying I DON’T you’ve already lost.   It’s not about FINDING TIME to do marketing; it’s about MAKING TIME and when you really want to do something you’ll always find a way.   It's About Priorities  At one event, I was talking to a business owner and he mentioned he had zero time to do marketing, because he was flat out, however, while we were talking his phone rang, and it was his wife. She asked if he could leave work early next Tuesday to pick up their daughter from school because she had an appointment elsewhere and couldn't change it. Now, remember, this person just finished telling me he had zero time to do marketing because he was flat out, but what do you think he told his wife?  He said YES of course.  It's Not Really About Time So it’s not really about TIME, it’s about PRIORITIES and what is important to you, and in this particular case his family was a priority, which it should be, but this is when you need to be honest and figure out where marketing fits into your daily, weekly and monthly business priorities? Just like your children are a massive priority in your family life, marketing should be a massive priority in your business life.  However, let's be honest, if marketing bores you senseless and you have no interest in marketing it's going to be a difficult journey. There needs to be some level of desire.  WHO Not HOW So what should you do? The answer is really simple. Ask WHO, not HOW. Instead of trying to work out HOW you're going to fit marketing into your busy schedule, resulting in your brain going into meltdown and finding all the reason why you may not be able to fit it into your busy schedule, why not ask yourself, WHO can I get to help me with my marketing? Geography And don't be limited by geography. The internet has made the world a small place and your WHO may be on the other side of the world.  I've been helping people develop marketing plans for years and I remember last year speaking with clients in Australia, Canada, Greece and the United Kingdom, all in the same week, and the reason I was able to help them with their marketing is because the basic underlying principles of marketing are also not bound by geography.  What Type Of Business Owner Are You? I like to think there are three types of business owners.   You know marketing is not your strength but you want to get better (and you enjoy it): If this is you, you need to start reading books and blogs, listen to podcasts and start attending marketing events, and when you're ready you'd definitely benefit from one-on-one mentoring. You enjoy marketing, but you honestly believe you don’t have time: You need to start with mentoring sooner rather than later, because mentoring is about opening your eyes to the skills you already possess, and I know over a few short months I can easily show you how to find a few extra hours each week and also show you how to involve your team in the marketing process.  You don’t like marketing and have no interest in learning about it: You need to find a WHO, but be careful, there are a lot of companies charging ridiculous fees for doing simple online marketing tasks. No More Excuses  So remember, having no time is no longer a valid excuse because we know we can always find the time and make time if we have a strong enough reason or priority. We all get twenty-four hours per day; it’s how we use them that counts, but if marketing is not your thing, just find a WHO and let them do all the heavy lifting, but whether you do it yourself or you outsource, make sure you start by creating a strategic marketing plan first and foremost.    If you have any marketing question after reading this blog or listening to the podcast, please feel free to email me [email protected] If you liked this episode You'll also like: Indispensable Marketing (Tactics and Strategies)  Free Downloads Yes, you'll have to give me your email address but don't panic you can get the free info and unsubscribe afterwards.   First 16 Pages of My Book – It’s No Secret There’s Money in Small Business. 12 Secrets to Get More People Through Your Front Door

Using AUDIOGRAMS will make your business stand out from the crowd, and this is what I discuss today with Oliver Wellington, co-founder of HEADLINER.  An audiogram is the easiest way to turn audio into a video, and it can be used on social media and also on your website, and with HEADLINER'S latest update, you can convert a written blog post into a video, by creatively pulling out keywords.  Three Components There are three components to an audiogram video: A single image A moving waveform animation An audio clip Headliner Marketplace If you don't know how to create an audiogram Headliner can do it for you. All you need to do is provide an image, some audio and they will put it together for you and create a fantastic video. And prices start at $1.  Just visit https://www.headliner.app/marketplace Text & Video Here's an interesting statistic from 2016: 85% of all videos viewed on Facebook are done so with the sound off. Therefore using text in your videos is important, and automatic transcription can easily be done using Headliner.  Where Should Text Be Placed In Your Video? So it's been shown that videos with text are viewed more often and for longer, but where should the text be placed on the video, and does animation make it more or less watchable. In this test animation meant the words lit up as they were being spoken, like what happens in karaoke.  Headliner performed four test videoes using text: Text at the bottom of the video Text in the middle of the video Text at the bottom of the video with animation Text in the middle of the video with animation The results showed that there was not a lot of difference between 1 & 2. However, they both outperformed 3 & 4. Why? The most significant feedback was people preferred to read at their own pace, and the words being lit up were offputting. Audiogram Usage (& Schools) Audiograms are very useful when it comes to marketing your business. Of course, they can be used on your website in blogs and on all social media outlets that allow videos, but another big user of audiograms and Headliner's App are schools.  Schools using Chromebooks and basic laptops are usually unable to edit video because their processes power is too slow, however, because Headliner is an online app they are now able to edit video easily. You can do the same.  Audiogram Video Length Most audiogram videos created are approximately 30 - 90 seconds in length, however, you can go up to 10 minutes, or if you already have your video and you want to edit it, you can upload up to 2 hours of video.  If you want a blog post uploaded and a video created, 1000 characters will equate to approximately one minute.  If you want to know more about converting text to a video you can email Oliver Wellington at [email protected] or [email protected] Stories As mentioned previously, using video is great for a website and your social media platforms, but another area you may consider using short videos, only 10 - 15 seconds in length, is in Instagram and Facebook Stories. These are becoming very popular, and all you need to do is provide the audio and headliner can do the rest. They also have a library of stock images and royalty free music.  Get It Done If you're not sure where to begin, go to the Headliner website and start playing around. You cannot break it.  Two previous guests on It's No Secret with Dr T., Paul Wright (Ep 050) and Adam Franklin (Ep 101) have both said, 'Done Is Better Than Perfect", so if you're waiting to become an expert before using the power of audiograms in your marketing...stop waiting and just do it.  Old-School Marketing & Promo  I asked Oliver about his marketing and promotion tactics for Headliner, and he is very keen on using old-school strategies. Just get out there and connect with people one-on-one at conferences, meet-ups and events.  Nothing beats word-of-mouth.  Improvement  Nothing is easy, and half the game is just showing up, grinding it out and not quitting. Improvement comes over time.  The best way to get new users is through your current users sharing their positive experiences. If people are not sharing your product or service with the people they know, your product or service needs more work.  Monday Morning Tip Remind yourself; you define your success. It may be money ($), or it may be just a feeling.  Connect With Oliver Wellington  You can connect with Oliver on email at [email protected] or [email protected] or visit Headliner Home Page. And don't forget to check out the Headliner Marketplace at https://www.headliner.app/marketplace HEADLINER are also sponsors of this year's Australian Podcast Awards If you have any questions about this podcast, please email me at [email protected] and if the mood feels right and the moons have appropriately aligned for you, share this podcast with your family and friends, and even better still, leave a REVIEW ON ITUNES. If you liked this episode You'll also like: Episode #9: Being A Generalist with Pat Flynn Upcoming Events Do you want to know How To Start A Podcast? If so, I'm running an event in Cairns on the 26th and 27th of October. More details are on my Events page. Check it out or Sign up for my newsletter and be kept in the loop.   Free Downloads Yes, you'll have to give me your email address but don't panic you can get the free info and unsubscribe afterwards.   First 16 Pages of My Book – It’s No Secret There’s Money in Small Business. 12 Secrets to Get More People Through Your Front Door  

I recorded this episode, 13 Reasons Why You Should Start A Podcast, while also shooting a Facebook live video so people could see the slight differences between the final edited podcast and what actually takes place when you're doing the recording.  A link to the Facebook Live video will be posted on my website.  To my surprise, I made fewer mistakes than I usually do and therefore less editing was required, but I still needed to do some tidying up before uploading.  I felt far more pressure today than I usually do because it was something I had not done before. But done is better than perfect, and things do get easier the more you do it. So, here are my 13 Reasons Why You Should Start A Podcast Having a podcast is one of the best ways to:  Stand out from the crowd Increase business referrals Strengthen networking relationships Connect with leaders in your industry Become an industry leader and expert Connect deeper with your existing clients Build your personal and professional profile Strengthen your brand Helps develop educational tools Take your marketing to the next level  Create content Become a better speaker Open doors you didn't know existed If you have any questions, please email me at [email protected] and if you're keen to come along to my upcoming podcast workshop, or one in the future follow the link below.  https://www.tysonfranklin.com/how-to-start-a-podcast-workshop

My guest today is Laura Peterson from San Diego, California. She has degrees in Mathematics and Psychology and has used this knowledge to become a best-selling author, speaker and persuasive writing expert, teaching people how to actually make money from writing books.  Laura also has a very successful podcast called Copy That Pops.  For more detailed show notes: Visit my website https://www.tysonfranklin.com/podcast  You can connect with Laura Petersen at https://www.copythatpops.com and on social media just look for @laptoplaura.     

If you’ve been tuning in over the past couple of weeks, you’d be aware that I’ve recorded the last two podcasts in Vancouver and Powell River. This week I travelled from Canada to the United States to attend one of my favourite events of the year, Business Black Ops in Arizona, organised by Dave Frees.   You may recall the name Dave Frees as he’s been a guest on my podcast twice already, Episode #2: Communication, Persuasion & Influence and a Bonus Episode Force Multipliers. Awareness & Alignment  The theme for this year's Business black Ops was Awareness and Alignment, and it was once again a brilliant three days of learning and networking. On the second day, we did a field trip to Top Golf in Scottsdale. Now if you’ve never heard of Top Golf, I’d like to point out that it’s more than just a driving range and a place to wack a few golf balls. Top Golf, as described on their website, is a global sports entertainment company, and I have to agree it’s a pretty amazing place. Marketing Mission  Identify as many marketing strategies and tactics as we could. Now it’s impossible to try and explain everything we observed, but what I can tell you straight off the bat is the importance of awareness. I visited Top Golf in July this year, and even though I thought it was a fantastic place back then, I never stopped and considered all the subtle marketing that was taking place right under my nose.  But, as soon as my reticular activating system was kicked into gear and I was told to look for marketing strategies and tactics, it was a completely different experience. The Offerings  As soon as you arrive you are greeted with signage about coaching lessons for adults and juniors. So immediately you know this venue is for all ages, not just adults, and on each level, they promote College Night for students. The signage at the front also mentioned group lessons and corporate events. Of course, we were there for a corporate event, but not everyone that visits is, so sometimes it’s important to point out the obvious. Never assume your clients and customers know about all the services and products you offer. Repetition  In their entry, or as they called it Guest Services, there was merchandise for sale, billboards promoting food items (burgers, ribs and beers) and how much it was to play at Top Golf, and this information was on multiple walls so it could not be missed.  Apparently, a simple message repeated numerous times is a good idea. Memberships and Up-Sells They also had membership options so you could become part of the Top Golf family. If you’ve ever been part of a club or association, you’ll appreciate that memberships, when done well, can be a powerful thing. Each bay only cost $25 - $50 per hour for up to 6 people per bay, depending on the time of the day, which is quite cheap, but apparently they don’t make their money from offering cheap bays, it’s all the add-ons and up-sells, that’s where the real money is. Do you have add-ons and up-sells in your business? If not, maybe you should think about it. Training and Values Another thing that was quite obvious, they had well-trained team members that knew their roles, right from the guest services to the people taking the food and drink orders. So training their team members must be a high priority. They also displayed their five core values in plain sight on large billboards. (fun, one team, excellence, edgy spirit, and caring). These core value billboards were clearly displayed throughout the complex, which is beneficial for both the customer and their team. Do you and your team know your core business values? If not, start working on them and feel proud to display them. Logo Placement  No matter where you looked the Top Golf logo could be seen. Even when you reached for the sauce, Top Golf was on the tray, and if you happened to visit the bathroom, they got you there as well. No Clutter I could go on and list another fifty things my team identified, and I think we did end up with a list closer to sixty, but what’s important to note is at no stage did any of their marketing look cluttered or feel tacky.   Every inch of Top Golf has been well thought out, and it goes to prove you can market what you do extensively throughout your business and still look professional, as long as it aligns with your brand. At no time did I see a laminated sign or sheet of white paper stuck to a wall with adhesive tape. Isn’t that interesting. Increasing Your Awareness But this podcast episode is not about promoting Top Golf; it’s about expanding your awareness towards your own business, the people you work with, your customer and client needs and also the businesses around you. The next time you walk into a business that you know is ‘crushing it’, don’t just walk in and take what they are doing for granted, instead kick your reticular activating system into gear and start observing why they are doing well. What can you learn from what you observe and can you use this information in your own business?  But don’t stop there, be aware of the business that are doing things poorly and makes sure you’re not doing this yourself. Use Your Smartphone It’s easy to become complacent, so here’s a strategy you may find helpful. Grab your Smartphone and add an alarm that says ‘Be Aware’ and you could schedule it to go off multiple times per day. Every time it goes off, stop and become aware of what is going on around you, you may be surprised by what you see. I hope you get something from today’s podcast and if you have any questions, please send me an email at [email protected] If You Liked This Episode Make sure you check out the two links above to previous episodes with Dave Frees.  And lastly... I've added a new event to my Events page that you may want to check out.  Also, you can Sign up for my newsletter if you want to be kept in the loop about what I'm up to, and believe me; it's a small loop.    FREE DOWNLOADS: First 16 Pages of My Book – It’s No Secret There’s Money in Small Business. 12 Secrets to Get More People Through Your Front Door. This was written to get you thinking. 

Nicole Baldinu resides in Sydney, Australia and is the co-founder of Webinar Ninja and the $100 MBA Show with her husband, Omar Zenhom. But before all the excitement of an entrepreneurs life, Nicole was a high school and university teacher and she learnt how to turn her failures into success by identity what her real strengths were.  In this episode we discuss: Why Nicole prefers to be behind the camera Working with her husband How they created $100 MBA Repurposing content Podcast failures and learnings Becoming the best podcast on iTunes in 2014 Brand alignment Pitfalls when you don't stay on brand Identifying your weaknesses Playing to your strengths Good preparation  Developing team culture The development of Webinar Ninja Developing remote teams  You Will Get Better You need to go with your strengths and change if things are not working as they should. Don't be afraid to make the change, especially when you know it is necessary. The first time you do anything it is fearful and it doesn't always work, but the second time it is much easier.  Monday Morning Tip When we look at our to-do-lists they're usually quite long, and we tend to do the easy, fun stuff first. Instead, we need to start work on the important things first.  If you have any questions about the podcast, please email me at [email protected] and if the mood feels right, share this podcast with your friends, family and work colleagues, and even better still, leave a review on iTunes.  If you want to connect with Nicole: You'll find her on Twitter @Nicole_Baldinu or you can go to her website Webinar Ninja or the $100 MBA Show If you liked this episode You'll also like: Episode #27: The Power of Webinars with Omar Zenhom Upcoming Events Do you want to know How To Start A Podcast? If so, I'm running an event in Cairns on the 26th and 27th of October. More details are on my Events page. Check it out or Sign up for my newsletter and be kept in the loop.   Free Downloads Yes, you'll have to give me your email address but don't panic you can get the free info and unsubscribe afterwards.   First 16 Pages of My Book – It’s No Secret There’s Money in Small Business. 12 Secrets to Get More People Through Your Front Door.

This podcast is being recorded in Powell Rover, which is a small mill town in British Columbia, Canada. Yesterday I spoke at their Chamber of Commerce monthly luncheon and it got me thinking about looking for and creating your own opportunities. What do I mean by this? Pretty much don’t sit back and wait for opportunities to come to you because it could be a long wait and may never come. And I must admit, I have been guilty of this in the past. BUT, about 6-months ago I was planning a family holiday to Vancouver, Powell River and Phoenix for a conference I attend every October, before heading back home. Chamber of Commerce   Soon after locking in our dates, I saw an ad in our local newspaper, the Cairns Post, about an upcoming Chamber of Commerce luncheon and the guest speaker was from out of town. When I saw at the topic I immediately thought, 'I could have spoken about about that', and I know about ten other people in Cairns that were quite capable and qualified to speak on the same subject. Anyway, after seeing the ad I remembered something I heard a friend say once that made me laugh. "Even Jesus had to leave his hometown for people to listen to him". Powell River So an idea popped into my head. What if I contacted the Powell River Chamber of Commerce and asked if I could speak at their luncheon if they had one. I sent off an email explaining I had written two marketing books and would love the opportunity to speak and shortly afterwards I received a reply email saying YES, and before too long a date was booked and a luncheon was created. As I mentioned I did this presentation yesterday and there were about 50 people present, which was a great turnout for a small town. Big Lesson  I spoke about one of my favourite subjects, the Six Pillars of Marketing and the feedback from the audience and emails I received later that day were all positive, but more importantly, I learnt a big lesson. You can’t wait for opportunities to present themselves, sometimes you have to get off your bum and create them yourself. Now, they could have said NO, but they didn’t, and it made me realise that I should have also contacted the Chamber of Commerce in Vancouver. I didn’t need to worry about Phoenix because I was already locked in to speak. Think About This If you enjoy public speaking, you want to get better and gain more experience and you have a message that is valuable and worth sharing with others you need to put yourself out there and see what happens. Hiding in the shadows waiting to be invited is not going to get you anywhere. Contact local organisations if they’re available and if you’re travelling out of town, and overseas, contact the local Chamber of Commerce and ask to speak.  Overcome Fear  I know not everyone wants to do public speaking and if you had asked me twenty years ago I would have been one of those people as well, but once you understand the opportunities that await you once you know how to control this fear, the better off you and your business will be. "There are two types of speakers. Those that get nervous before they speak and liars". - Mark Twain If public speaking terrifies you, start small and talk about something you know extremely well, and build from there. Other Opportunities  Creating your own opportunities applies too much more than public speaking. If there are no networking groups in your area or ones that you want to be part of, create your own. If you want to get together with like-minded people maybe you need to be part of a mastermind group or create your own mastermind group. Marketing When it comes to marketing, what are you interested in or better at than anyone else at, and can you develop this into a niche for your business and create new opportunities. Creating opportunities is only limited by your imagination and if you feel you're lacking in this area, get together with your team, family or friends and discuss this concept further.  Now go out there and create an opportunity for yourself.  I hope you get something from today’s podcast and if you have any questions, please send me an email at [email protected] If You Liked This Episode You'll also like Make Hay While The Sun Shines And lastly... I've added a new event to my Events page that you may want to check out.  Also, you can Sign up for my newsletter if you want to be kept in the loop about what I'm up to, and believe me; it's a small loop.    FREE DOWNLOADS: First 16 Pages of My Book – It’s No Secret There’s Money in Small Business. 12 Secrets to Get More People Through Your Front Door. This was written to get you thinking. 

Eric Hunley is a Senior Business Systems Analyst in Virginia, USA and he openly admits his career choices have not always been overly exciting, even though he has authored three books and taught at the University of Arizona.  On this podcast we discuss: Finding fulfilment outside of your daily employment Job security and benefits Difference between a job and a career Removing crutches Being open to other peoples advice Keeping your mind stimulated with outside interests Monday Morning Tip: Remove every obstacle in your path that could hinder your progress.  For example, if you decide you're going to go for a run in the morning, at 4.30am life will suck. Therefore you need to have everything already set out. You need to get changed and go outside. If you still don't feel like running, then don't.  Eric does have a very successful podcast called UNSTRUCTURED: DYNAMIC INFORMAL CONVERSATIONS. You can check it out at https://www.unstructuredpod.com If you have any questions about the podcast, please email me at [email protected] and if the mood feels right, share this podcast with your friends, family and work colleagues, and even better still, leave a review on iTunes.  If you liked this episode You'll also like: Episode #35: Mastering Your Mindset with Deb Johnstone Upcoming Events Do you want to know How To Start A Podcast? If so, I'm running an event in Cairns on the 26th and 27th of October. More details are on my Events page. Check it out or Sign up for my newsletter and be kept in the loop.   Free Downloads Yes, you'll have to give me your email address but don't panic you can get the free info and unsubscribe afterwards.   First 16 Pages of My Book – It’s No Secret There’s Money in Small Business. 12 Secrets to Get More People Through Your Front Door.

I’ve been in Vancouver with my family for the past seven days, and I have to say that Vancouver is a pretty cool place to visit and it’s surrounded by so much natural beauty, which makes it unique. No wonder it has been named as one of the world’s most liveable cities. Anyway, yesterday we visited the Vancouver Police Museum, which I highly recommend if you’re in Vancouver, and as I was looking through the exhibits and photographs from the early 1900’s, it struck me that so many cities in the same era looked very similar. It’s hard to tell them apart. So, why am I mentioning this? It’s because regardless of how similar they all were in the early 1900’s, over the past 100 years most cities have developed a particular uniqueness or an iconic figure that separates them from each other. If you think of Stanley Park, you think Vancouver. The Golden Gate Bridge, you think San Francisco and closer to home when you see a picture of the Opera House you think immediately Sydney. And it’s the uniqueness of each city, which is NOW used in their tourism marketing. This concept of creating uniqueness got me thinking about how small businesses need to be doing the same thing. I was reading a blog article on Linkedin, written by Richard Branson and he said every airline starts with the same components, but what sets them apart is their people. Think about that for a moment. Most airlines have similar aeroplanes and use the same airport, so it’s their uniqueness that separates them from their competitors, or as Richard put it, it’s their people. This blog article got me thinking about my career and a question my wife asked me many years ago, and I think her question applies to every profession, trade, and career. “How come you can go through university, learn the same information from the same lecturers, pass the same exams, yet within a few years of leaving university you all practice so differently?” To put this question in context, my background is podiatry and this question related to my podiatry business in Cairns, and she was comparing my podiatry business to all the other podiatry businesses in the area. At the time my business had the latest equipment and offered services that no one else in town even considered. My podiatry business was leaps and bounds ahead of my competitors and I used this to my marketing advantage. So here’s my question to you, and the point behind today’s podcast, what sets your business apart from your competitors? Do you have some form of uniqueness that you can use to your advantage and make it part of your marketing strategy? If you cannot tell your ‘ideal clients’ why your business is different and what it is that sets you apart from your competitors, how on earth can your clients tell you apart? They can’t. And this is why the person down the road who you know provides an inferior service or has less training than you do is kicking your butt, or at a minimum taking some of your clients. So what do you need to do? Have a team meeting and write down all the services you offer and all the small things you do that you know your competition don’t do. Note down everything that makes your business unique. When this list is complete, you need to convey this information in all your client communications and all your marketing. Be proud of what make you unique. You need to be like Vancouver and shout out proudly what makes you better than every other city in the world. Don’t keep what makes you great a secret. Did you know that Stanley Park is 10% bigger than Central Park in New York City? No. Well, you do now. You need to find the Stanley Park in your business. I hope you get something from today’s podcast and if you have any questions, please send me an email at [email protected] If You Liked This Episode You'll also like Learn & Profit From Their Mistakes And lastly... I've added a new event to my Events page that you may want to check out.  Also, you can Sign up for my newsletter if you want to be kept in the loop about what I'm up to, and believe me; it's a small loop.    FREE DOWNLOADS: First 16 Pages of My Book – It’s No Secret There’s Money in Small Business. 12 Secrets to Get More People Through Your Front Door. This was written to get you thinking. 

Victoria Mavis lives in Munich, Germany and is a professional Magician, speaker, author and business coach. Using her vast skills of close up magic, large stage performances, illusions and mentalism, she can help small business owners see the unseen and open their minds to new opportunities.  She helps make the impossible possible in their businesses.  For more detailed show notes, please visit my website https://www.tysonfranklin.com/podcast  If you have any questions, please email me at [email protected] You can connect with Victoria Mavis at https://www.victoria-mavis.com  

I attended a business seminar/workshop in Cairns many years ago and during one particular exercise, we had to write down our financial goals for the upcoming year and also all the activities we would do to make it a reality. After doing this, as instructed, the presenter started messing with our heads and made us add a zero.  Listen in to find out what happened next.  If you have any questions, please send me an email at [email protected]   If You Liked This Episode You'll also like The Brain Book And lastly... I've added a new event to my Events page that you may want to check out.  Also, you can Sign up for my newsletter if you want to be kept in the loop about what I'm up to, and believe me; it's a small loop.    FREE DOWNLOADS: First 16 Pages of My Book – It’s No Secret There’s Money in Small Business. 12 Secrets to Get More People Through Your Front Door. This was written to get you thinking. 

Renee Hasseldine is based in Melbourne, Victoria and is the author of Share Your Passions. She helps entrepreneurs, coaches and thought leaders to unpack their thoughts and turn them into intellectual property using visual models. Many service-based businesses have value locked in their heads, which is invisible, but if this can be unlocked using visual models, it can communicate what they do quickly and in turn boost sales.  4-Types of Models To Create A Signature System  Success Model Educate Model Excite Model The YES Model For more detailed notes please visit my website https://www.tysonfranklin.com/podcast or email me at [email protected] Renee Hasseldine can be found at https://www.shareyourpassion.com.au  

I'm sure you’ve all heard the saying ‘make hay while the sun shines’, which means making the most of your opportunities while you have the chance to do so or take advantage of favourable circumstances when the time is right. This phrase originated with English farmers in the 1500’s and a hundred or so years later extended into general life and quickly became a cliché. Situations Arise I’ve had a few situations over the past couple months that reminded me of the importance of this saying in our day-to-day lives, regardless of what you do. Situation #1: I was at a networking event, which was quite loud, meaning I was almost yelling for most of the night. This took its toll on my voice and the next day I was scheduled to do a podcast recording, and I couldn’t talk, so I had to reschedule the podcast for a few days later.   Situation #2: I went to Podcast Movement in Philadelphia in July and even though I was not talking loud, I was meeting a lot of people and talked a lot over the three day period and pretty much wore my voice out. While I was there I was being interviewed and fortunately, I managed to get through it.  Situation #3: I got the dreaded ‘Man flu’ last week, so as I record this I’m probably still not 100%, but I’ve recovered enough to do this podcast, plus I can edit out an odd cough if it occurs.  How Does This Relate? So what does this have to do with making hay while the sun shines? Let me explain. I produce a weekly podcast show where I interview a guest and also a short Five Minute Friday (FMF) episode each week just like this one. So far I’ve never missed uploading an episode on time, but that’s only because I’ve made hay while the sun shined. I have guest interviews recorded at least four weeks in advance and a few FMF episodes on standby in case they are needed. Podcasting has taught me that my voice is critical and without it, I’m buggered. Be Aware Of Problems  But it’s not just my voice that can prevent my podcasts being uploaded on time. It’s not uncommon to have Internet problems, computer hardware and software glitches, power outages, and last minute guest cancellations. All these events are why I must plan ahead. In addition to this, I have to prepare for holidays and other work, social and family commitments. In an earlier Five Minute Friday I talked about Creating A Disaster Folder, which is extremely important, but making hay while the sun shines is just as important, if not more so. If you make hay while the sun shines it can give you breathing space when the sun is not shining and covered by thick grey clouds. My Past Podiatry Business When I owned my podiatry businesses, we made a lot of orthotics, and we had computerised milling machines in place that could make them quickly, which is why we offered a 24-hour fitting service. Most patients loved our fast service, but some were in no hurry and didn’t mind waiting for two or three days for their fitting visit. And this is when problems occurred, not with the patients, but with the podiatrists. Because the orthotics were not due the next day, the podiatrists wouldn’t do the design straight away, instead, they would put it off to tomorrow, the day after that or the day they were due. BUT, this is why you need to make hay while the sun shines. What Could Go Wrong Instead of doing the orthotic design and having it milled out straight away, ready to be fitted (while the sun is shining and the time is perfect), they would wait. And what could go wrong? Computers can crash Software can fail  The milling machine can break a drill bit LAB TECHNICIAN CAN CALL IN SICK A simple power outage. So did this happen often? No, it didn’t, but it should never have happened.  Just Do It If you have time to do a task right now…then do it, because you don’t know what tomorrow will bring. And making hay while the sun shines doesn’t just apply to work; it applies at home as well. Final Tip Start timing yourself how long it takes to do specific tasks at work and home. You may be surprised it doesn’t take you as long as you think and you can fit far more in during that 40-minute time window than you thought possible.  If you have any questions please send me an email at [email protected] or visit my website tysonfranklin.com